The Cleveland Browns have three wins through 16 weeks of the 2025 NFL season, beating the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, and Las Vegas Raiders. They nearly beat the Tennessee Titans a few weeks back, and they kept the Buffalo Bills on the ropes in Week 16, but ultimately lost.
This has, unfortunately, been the story for the Browns in 2025, as they’ve had lots of opportunities to win games but have fallen short more often than not. While it’s frustrating to lose to any team, it’s especially frustrating to fall to divisional opponents, given that they appear on the schedule twice per season.
Analyst Daryl Ruiter pointed out that the Browns could make history from a divisional standpoint if they don’t pull out a win in the next two games.
“Browns need a win v Steelers or at Bengals to avoid going winless within the AFC North for the 5th time (2006, 2011, 2016, 2017),” Ruiter posted on X.
#Browns need a win v #Steelers or at #Bengals to avoid going winless within the AFC North for the 5th time (2006, 2011, 2016, 2017)
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) December 22, 2025
As Ruiter noted, the Browns play the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals to close out the season. They lost via a blowout to the Steelers earlier in the season, but nearly beat the Bengals in Week 1.
It will be difficult for them to beat the Steelers, who are one win away from clinching the division, and the Bengals are always a tough matchup, despite them already being eliminated from the playoffs.
While losses for the Browns could make them 0-6 against the division this year, they might be willing to take that if it leads to a top-two pick.
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