Power rankings tend to trail reality by a week or 2. Analysts want to see a team prove itself more than once before moving it into the upper tier, especially a team that started the season with low expectations. That caution usually fades as the wins pile up. The Browns are starting to see it happen.
Bleacher Report moved the Browns from 17th to 13th in its latest NFL power rankings, with Brent Sobleski breaking down their 4-2 start.
“Watson hasn’t played particularly well this season. However, he’s done enough, specifically in crunch time, to help his team establish a winning record. Despite the early success, this approach doesn’t seem sustainable when the Browns eventually face the better teams. For example, Lamar Jackson wasn’t in the Baltimore Ravens’ lineup during Sunday’s matchup. Fortunately, Cleveland’s remaining docket looks rather manageable. In fact, the Browns face only one team with a winning record between now and the start of December,” Sobleski wrote.
The 4-spot jump follows the 13-10 win over Baltimore, which put the Browns on top of the AFC North. Sobleski described their formula simply: elite defense for 3 quarters or more, then the ball goes to Deshaun Watson to make a play when it matters most.
The Browns have been outscored by 16 points on the season, and beating Baltimore without Jackson is not the same as beating the Ravens at full strength.
The schedule detail is where his analysis gets interesting. If the Browns face only 1 team with a winning record between now and December, they have a real chance to build a cushion before the toughest stretch of the season arrives.
That is especially important in this division. Every AFC North team has a winning record after 6 weeks, and Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore are all 4-2. The Browns hold the tiebreaker over both rivals, but that edge only matters if they keep pace.
A manageable schedule also gives the roster time to heal. Mason Graham, Quinshon Judkins and Mike Hall Jr. all missed Sunday’s game, and getting them back during an easier stretch could make the Browns much more dangerous by December.
The next step is Sunday’s trip to face the Tennessee Titans. Teams that are built to last take care of winnable games, and if the Browns can stack wins over the next month, the doubts about their formula will be much harder to sustain.
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