This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns travel to New Orleans to face the 3-7 Saints.
Cleveland is looking to win the contest and reach three wins before heading into a tough stretch of their schedule.
The last time the Browns went south to Louisiana was in Week 2 of the 2018 season.
As Zac Jackson of The Athletic recently noted on X, things didn’t go Cleveland’s way that day.
“The last time the Browns played in New Orleans, they cut Josh Gordon the day before the game. Tyrod Taylor threw a TD bomb to Antonio Callaway. Zane Gonzalez missed two FG and two PAT. The Baker Mayfield era started five days later.”
The last time the Browns played in New Orleans, they cut Josh Gordon the day before the game. Tyrod Taylor threw a TD bomb to Antonio Callaway. Zane Gonzalez missed two FG and two PAT. The Baker Mayfield era started five days later.
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) November 15, 2024
Gordon had been on the team’s roster since 2012 but was suspended for two full seasons (2015 and 2016) due to substance abuse issues.
Taylor led the Browns to a 0-1-1 start in 2018 before Mayfield, the organization’s first-round pick that spring, got his first start as a pro.
Gonzalez’s awful afternoon led to his release the following day.
Cleveland reached its bye week in 2018 with a 3-6-1 record before winning four of the final six games to finish 7-8-1.
Despite the losing record, seven victories was a significant upgrade over 2017 when the franchise failed to post a single win for the first time in its history.
The Browns hope to avoid the drama of 2018 by going into New Orleans and taking care of business.
In the following month, Cleveland meets Pittsburgh twice in three weeks and also faces the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.
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