The Cleveland Browns had a healthy sense of optimism before the 2024 season began.
Despite not having its two starting offensive tackles as well as running back Nick Chubb to begin the year, the organization, and several media members, believed the team would be playoff contenders.
After five weeks of the season, the Browns are anything but.
A 1-4 record, and losses to teams that they should have beaten, have baffled fans and foes alike.
The Browns inexplicably lost to the sketchy New York Giants in Week 3, then lost again a week later to a Las Vegas team with a glorified second-string quarterback under center.
Last Sunday Cleveland lost its third in a row to a blazing-hot Washington Commanders team, and mercifully, will end its tour of the NFC East with a game at Philadelphia this weekend.
Without a doubt, if the Browns want to salvage any hope for 2024, they need to defeat an Eagles team with its own issues, says guard Joel Bitonio.
“We have to find a way to win a game,” Bitonio said on Thursday, per Camryn Justice on X. “There’s definitely urgency, I wouldn’t say panic, but urgency.”
#Browns Joel Bitonio: "We have to find a way to win a game. There's definitely urgency, I wouldn't say panic, but urgency." pic.twitter.com/deL1j9kvsI
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) October 10, 2024
Browns fans may slightly disagree with Bitonio.
There is definitely urgency in winning Sunday’s game, but there is already panic among the faithful about what another loss would mean to the franchise.
Should Cleveland lose to Philly, they will have been swept by the entire NFC East already this year.
Then, in the next three weeks, the team faces fellow AFC North foes Cincinnati and Baltimore before meeting the Los Angeles Chargers.
All three contests are at home, but that doesn’t mean much as two of the Browns’ losses have taken place at Huntington Bank Field.
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