The 3-8 Cleveland Browns are 2-2 in the Jameis Winston era and are simply looking to put together a nice stretch to build some momentum heading into the offseason.
While some fans are excited about Winston and pointing to flashbacks of last season’s late-season run with Joe Flacco as the blueprint, ESPN’s Analytics team recently shut down the chances of the team winning the AFC North.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley shared on X that the Browns have a 0 percent chance of winning the AFC North, while the Cincinnati Bengals are at 0.2 percent, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 43.8 percent, and the Baltimore Ravens at 56 percent.
Entering Week 13, here are the projections to win the AFC North (per ESPN Analytics):
Ravens (8-4): 56%
Steelers (8-3): 43.8%
Bengals (4-7): 0.2%
Browns (3-8): 0%— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) November 27, 2024
The Browns are five games back, and they face a brutal schedule as they finish the season with matchups against the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, and Baltimore Ravens, all of whom are still in the thick of the AFC’s playoff race.
It was easy to start reminiscing about last season’s improbable playoff run once Winston started cooking.
Still, last season’s team was never under .500, so making the playoffs wasn’t nearly as unlikely as it would be this year after a disappointing start.
Pittsburgh and Baltimore are in a heated battle atop the division, and they still face off one more time in Week 16 in a game that could ultimately decide who will take the AFC North.
It’s undoubtedly not Cleveland’s year to win the division, but the season won’t be a complete loss if the team can continue rallying together and finish strong.
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