Browns Will Have To Wait To Potentially Clinch Playoff Berth
Anyone asking for a Browns playoff berth for Christmas will have to wait a little longer for their gift to arrive.
Cleveland entered the weekend with eight different scenarios at its disposal to clinch a spot in the NFL's postseason tournament. All of them started with a win by the Browns over the Houston Texans.
Beyond that there were an assortment of outcomes that were needed from other playoff hopeful teams like the Steelers, Bills, Colts, Broncos, Dolphins, Jaguars, Bengals and Chiefs. Following wins by the Steelers and Bills on Saturday though, it's now mathematically impossible for the Browns to clinch a playoff berth, as accomplishing that goal will have to wait at least another week.
Saturday saw that list of eight clinching scenarios reduced to just one after the Steelers obliterated the Bengals 34-11. That one remaining scenario also required a Bills loss, which was dashed later on in the evening as Buffalo kicked a field goal with 28 seconds left to hold off the Chargers, 24-22.
Neither of those results impacted where the Browns fall in the playoff picture at the moment as they remain 5 seed in the AFC if the playoffs started today. They've been taking a "go 1-0" approach to each week for quite some time now, a mentality that continues as they attempt to take care of the one thing they can control this weekend – beating Houston on Christmas Eve.
If they're able to do so they'd return home with a 10-5 record on the season and be a near lock for the postseason when the Jets come to Cleveland for Thursday Night Football, to open up Week 17. Pulling that off in front of the hometown fans would certainly make accomplishing that feat even more satisfying next week.
First things first though, the Browns look to deliver an early Christmas gift to the Cleveland faithful by taking care of business against the C.J. Stroud-less Texans.
