The Cleveland Browns lead the AFC North standings, but their fourth-quarter escapes haven’t convinced everyone they can stay there.
Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab ranked Cleveland No. 19 in his Week 7 power rankings, citing an offense that leaves the Browns with little room for error. Cleveland improved to 4-2 with a 13-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens, its fourth victory decided by a late scoring drive.
“The Browns have four very close wins in the final minutes, and the last two victories came in the final 10 seconds. They’re 21st in DVOA. In betting terms, they have the longest odds to win the AFC North despite being in first place right now,” Schwab said. “This is not sustainable, especially with an offense that is 29th in DVOA, which is why they’re not higher than 19th.”
The Browns moved up three spots in Schwab’s rankings but still trailed every AFC North rival. Baltimore was fourth, Cincinnati was 10th and Pittsburgh was 16th, despite Cleveland already owning wins over the Ravens and Steelers.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson Still Searching for a Complete Game
The win over Baltimore provided another example of the problem. Cleveland punted on all five first-half possessions, producing just 46 net yards and three first downs.
Deshaun Watson eventually found Jerry Jeudy for a 33-yard gain on the final possession, setting up Andre Szmyt’s winning 37-yard field goal. The finish was enough to overcome another afternoon in which the passing game took too long to get going.
Head coach Todd Monken has acknowledged the gap between Cleveland’s results and its offensive performance.
“We haven’t played our best football on offense. And we’ve had moments on special teams where we’ve let some things slip. I love the way our guys play. Like, we’ve got the right guys, but we do too many things on the offensive side of the ball that hurt us,” Monken said. “That doesn’t allow us to stack plays. Coaching and playing collectively. We’re under construction, man.”
Cleveland has bought itself time to work through those problems. But it still hasn’t shown it can consistently avoid them.
Browns Defense Keeps Giving Cleveland a Chance
The defense remains the strongest argument for taking the Browns seriously. After allowing Baltimore to score on its first two possessions, Cleveland kept the Ravens off the scoreboard the rest of the game. Carson Schwesinger forced a Derrick Henry fumble in the fourth quarter, giving the offense the short field it needed to produce the tying touchdown.
Monken has repeatedly credited the group’s toughness and belief, even while making clear that the offense needs to contribute more consistently.
Help could be coming. On Wednesday, Monken expressed optimism that running backs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson could play against Tennessee. He also indicated defensive tackle Mason Graham had a good chance to return.
The Browns visit the Tennessee Titans on October 25 before a November 1 rematch with the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
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