The Cleveland Browns finished their 2023 regular season at 11-6, coming in second place for one of the hardest divisions in the NFL.
Cleveland’s second-place finish was their second in four years, matching their final standing for the 2020 regular season.
While Browns fans know the 1989 season was the last time the franchise finished on top of their division, a new social media post magnifies the futility for Cleveland compared to the rest of the league.
In a Twitter post by NFL Stats, the Browns have the longest division title drought in the league that’s more than 13 years earlier than the two next-closest teams.
The last time each #NFL team won their division…
Browns – 1989
Jets – 2002
Raiders – 2002
Dolphins – 2008
Chargers – 2009
Giants – 2011
Colts – 2014
Cardinals – 2015
Panthers – 2015
Broncos – 2015
Falcons – 2016
Bears – 2018
Patriots – 2019
Commanders – 2020
Seahawks – 2020…— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) May 9, 2024
No other team in the league failed to win their division since the start of the new millennium.
Behind the Browns are the New York Jets and Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders as neither team has won their respective division since 2002.
Two other AFC teams – the Miami Dolphins and the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers – finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, on the title drought list.
Conversely, nearly 60 percent of the league’s teams have won a division title in the past four years according to the post.
For the Browns to end their drought this season, the team will have to overcome one of the hardest schedules in the NFL.
The league recently ranked Cleveland’s 2024 regular season schedule as the hardest in the NFL while Sharp Football Analysis used oddsmakers’ projected win totals for opponents to determine the Browns’ schedule is the third most difficult this season.
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