Why the Browns are frightening with playoffs almost out of reach
The Browns (5-8) aren't sitting where they had hoped to be by mid-December this season. They're playing with nothing to lose; a scary mindset for opposing teams still in playoff contention.
Cleveland has a 0.4% chance to make the playoffs and their mentality is changing.
"I don't know what our chances are, I don't know what the percentage is. I just know next week we got to go 1-0," DE Myles Garrett said. "If our chances are zero, we've got to knock down someone else's chances."
The Browns have the talent and schedule to do just that. Their next three opponents are all fighting for their playoff hopes.
The Ravens (9-4) are holding onto the AFC North lead by a thread. The Saints (4-9) are just a couple games out of first place in a struggling NFC South. And the Commanders (7-5-1) are the sixth seed if the playoffs were to start today.
"Our goal is to win out," CB Greg Newsome II told reporters. "As competitors, you always want to win. You're just trying to go one game at a time and get a win."
Winning out may not be what Browns fans are hoping for with their eyes looking toward the future. But Cleveland has a lack of draft capital anyway, and two of their final four opponents are AFC North rivals.
"No one's in the building moping around or giving up. We're still going to go out there, play our hearts out, and see what can happen at the end of the season," Newsome II added.
The Browns aren't mathematically eliminated, but the fat lady is singing on their season. So, other teams beware.
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