Browns Are 6-5, Where Are They Now?
The Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions moving them to 6-5, setting them up for a pair of pivotal matchups with the Baltimore Ravens. They did exactly what they needed to do, but there's an inescapable feeling of dread with the Browns right now that they cannot shake.
The Browns find themselves in a muddled AFC Conference where seemingly every team is in contention for the postseason. This team is doing everything in their power to compete while clearly getting significantly weaker due to injuries and other issues. The ceiling for the Browns seems to be caving in the past few weeks and if they are somehow able to get to the postseason, that might be their championship.
That's incredibly disappointing given the promise of this season.
The Browns aren't running out of gas heading into the latter part of the season. An oil change is 20,000 miles overdue, the engine light is on and they are trying to make it through the rest of the year driving uphill on flat tires. It's a race to see which issue is going to stop the car first.
There's always been a sense that this season might be doomed the second Baker Mayfield hurt his shoulder week two against the Houston Texans and coming out of week 11, inevitability is closing in around this team.
Even as the Browns are in a position where if they beat the Ravens, they get to 7-5 and the bye week, that may not be enough given the issues this team is facing.
Mayfield, who has been dealing with plenty just with the shoulder has now accumulated knee and heel injuries to go with it. Against the Detroit Lions, the heel seemed to be giving him the most problems and he looked dreadful.
Given the condition of Mayfield coming out of the game against the New England Patriots, many were wondering why head coach Kevin Stefanski wouldn't go with backup Case Keenum to try to give Mayfield a chance to heal.
The Browns went with Mayfield, who struggled mightily, fought to stay in a game they ultimately won in spite of his play. The fact that he appeared to skip the postgame press conference, declining to comment does not help his perception or the issues going on with the team.
If head coach Kevin Stefanski is saying the team is better with Mayfield despite all of these injuries, what does that say about Keenum's viability?
Further, what is the potential for Mayfield to heal at least the injuries to his knee and heel? Maybe a week wouldn't have changed anything. Would three weeks in a world where Keenum plays against the Ravens allow Mayfield to make a marked improvement to face them in the rematch?
If Mayfield can improve or completely heal from at least the leg injuries over the next three weeks, there's far more hope for this team. In addition to his own improvement, the Browns will likely get back at least three key players just on the offensive side of the ball.
Unless the injuries to Mayfield's legs improve dramatically in the next week, putting him out there against the Ravens appears to be akin to a death sentence. That's where the issues on offense go much deeper than Mayfield.
Jack Conklin's dislocated elbow has been a major blow to the team, because the more Blake Hance has played at right tackle, the more teams are taking advantage. It appears opponents have figured out what gives him the most problems and exploit it consistently, which is limited what the Browns can do in the passing game.
They will occasionally roll to the right on some quick hitting passes to the flats or even behind the line of scrimmage, but whenever pressure comes, it often results in rolling left, which is proving more and more difficult given Mayfield's physical limitations.
Conklin is a player that could possibly be back in the next three weeks. Kareem Hunt is going to be activated from injured reserve and could be ready to go as soon as this week. Those two players would immediately upgrade the Browns offense and possibly enable Mayfield more freedom as a passer, all of which would definitely help.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, the best wide on the team, should be back from his groin injury, which unfortunately has forced him to miss three games this year The fact Jones is the best receiver on this team is an indictment of the wide receiver position this season.
What was supposed to be a strength this year has been one of the biggest weaknesses on the team along with defensive tackle. Odell Beckham Jr. not working out in Cleveland combined with a lingering knee injury that has left Jarvis Landry physically compromised have forced the Browns to rely on Jones and rookie third round pick Anthony Schwartz, who the Browns knew was a project when they selected him.
It's an issue that's simply not going to improve enough until next season at the earliest.
This coming offseason, they are going to be changing the makeup of that room and investing in more talent that can make a more immediate impact.
The one saving grace for this offense is being able to run the ball with Nick Chubb. That powered their victory against the Lions and will be critical if the Browns are going to beat the Ravens.
With all of these issues hanging out there for the Browns, some which simply will not improve this season, there's a feeling that the Browns might be better off shutting Mayfield down to get the shoulder surgery he needs done now to better position themselves to compete next year, fully healthy.
The Browns aren't going to take that approach as they will give it everything they have until the wheels fall off, but it's not difficult to sympathize. This team provides so many reasons to think it's time to pull the plug before anything worse happens.
As it is, the best path forward for this team, save for some divine healing for Mayfield, does appear to be sitting him against the Ravens despite the fact losing would drop them to 6-6 and make the game coming out of the bye a must win at home.
Assuming Mayfield can make significant improvements to his legs, Conklin returns and the Browns have both Hunt and Jones back, that may give them the best path not only to beat the Ravens, but to close out the season with some strength.
The reality is there is no great path forward. The players have given everything they've had this season with a large number of players including Mayfield, Landry, Jedrick Wills, J.C. Tretter, Jadeveon Clowney and Malik Jackson playing through debilitating injuries and it simply may not be enough.
