Cleveland Browns Things To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving you are probably joining together with family and eating plenty of good food. There is a slate of NFL games on throughout the day to enjoy in the background too. Maybe you are like me and football is one of your favorite parts of the holiday.
Cleveland has had an up and down year, it feels like a lot more of the downs. Still, the team is 6-5 and there is some things to be thankful for, believe it or not. Let’s get to the point.
Browns still in position
If someone told you that the Browns would be 6-5 with 11 games passed, you probably would not have believed them. At this record many believe the Browns are disappointing thus far and are a long shot to the playoffs. The reality is the Browns are still in position.
In the AFC North the Browns are two games back and will play the Baltimore Ravens twice in three weeks. Right there is a chance for the Browns to make up some ground. If the Browns some how take both they are in great position. If you win one then you need to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals in the second matchups with those teams.
The AFC wildcard will come down to a tight race and there is just seven games left. Cleveland needs to win 11 games to likely get in the playoffs. So, just finding five wins on the schedule essentially.
Even when it has looked bad this season, sometimes like the same OL’ Browns, it’s okay to know that the team is still in position.
Myles Garrett’s greatness
Cleveland has the best pass-rusher in the league, it’s set in stone. Myles Garrett leads the league with 13 sacks and is on track to have a hall of fame career, with ease really. Garrett will soon be the Browns’ all-time sack leader - pretty quick too. Cleveland has a guy that opposing teams have to game-plan to stop on defense.
It’s not likely it happens, but it’s crazy that Garrett is actually on track to challenge Michael Strahan’s sack record. When you have a guy that can put up 20+ sack seasons you are good to go. It won’t be a surprise to see Garrett get 20 sacks this season, he’s just that good. To achieve such feat the star pass-rusher would just need one sack a game for the remainder of the season.
Garrett very well could be a Browns’ player for his career. He’s signed to a long contract and has spoken on how much Cleveland has grown on him. The Browns have the best defensive player in football and that’s something to be thankful for.
Nick Chubb
Cleveland is lucky enough to have one of their very best running backs in the NFL. Chubb signed an extension not to long ago that will keep him around at least a couple more years. On the season Chubb has 851 yards in eight games.
Chubb has missed some time this year and has played in just eight games, but he’s on track for potentially his best year yet. With 142 carries on the season Chubb is averaging six yards a pop.
Not only has Chubb ran the ball well, he’s stepped up in the passing game with Kareem Hunt out. Last week against the Detroit Lions, Chubb was on the receiving end of a touchdown pass.
As long as Chubb is in Cleveland the Browns will have one of the toughest backs in the league that is hard to bring down. It’s okay to expect 1,000 yard seasons with this bell cow. The Browns go as Chubb goes.
Brandon Little is a writer for Sports Illustrated’s Browns Digest website and you can follow him on Twitter here. You can follow Browns Digest on Twitter as well here.
