New Years Eve got off to a rough start for fans of the Cleveland Browns.
Hopes for a division title and the AFC’s top seed disappeared with the Ravens’ beat-down of the Miami Dolphins.
But that doesn’t mean the team’s unlikely 11-5 record earned amid a flurry of injuries is for naught.
And the annual message posted by the Browns social media carries a new meaning as the playoffs loom.
Wishing all you members of the #DawgPound a very happy new year! pic.twitter.com/VlpmAEU1C5
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 1, 2024
As the clock struck midnight, Cleveland’s social media team posted the usual “Happy New Year” message.
In years past, the Dawg Pound might have had a “Bah! Humbug!” attitude toward such a sentiment.
This time, it seems to carry a more promising, and hopefully prophetic meaning.
Cleveland enters 2024 in unfamiliar territory, having waded through the 2023 season to a fifth seed in the playoffs.
Browns fans will have a hard time remembering when they last debated whether to rest players in a season finale.
If they did, it was probably to save someone for next year, not for a playoff game.
Even in 2021, the Browns had to win their final game in order to set up their wild card victory at Pittsburgh.
And the Happy New Year shows promise of continuing into the 2024 regular season.
Cleveland fans are watching some of Andrew Berry’s draft picks emerge as quality NFL players.
Grant Delpit, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Martin Emerson are earning weekly accolades.
And rookies Dawand Jones and Cedric Tillman will probably start in Kevin Stefanski’s 2024 offense.
With all their core players signed through next season, this looks like the start of a very happy Browns year.
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