After a win over the Houston Texans, the Cleveland Browns now sit at 6-3.
As they look to continue a strong start to the second half of this season, Browns fans know the team has a great opportunity this week against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia, who fell this past week to the New York Giants, have failed to separate from the rest of the NFC East.
Sunday is still a ways off, however, and fans get to enjoy a week of having a win total that doubles the loss total.
6-3 is not just a record, rather, a meaningful status symbol for the city of Cleveland.
Proving Legitimacy
After the circus that was the 2019 season, fans around the league seem to be waiting for this year’s Browns to collapse in similar fashion.
For now, that hasn’t happened yet.
As the season gets deeper and deeper, it feels like that collapse may never come at all.
If the Browns keep winning, the hopes of opposing fans wanting to see this team fail will remain just that.
I think we can finally say that Stefanski is the guy. Needs to put together a legit defense but being 6-3 is ahead of where most expected us to be with another new HC. And in a weird, shortened offseason due to a pandemic to boot.
— Browns Time (@DevotedBrownie) November 16, 2020
Sitting at 6-3, will Cleveland make the postseason for the first time since 2002? 👀 pic.twitter.com/OU4qkdhKRX
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 16, 2020
For franchises that have sustained success over the past couple decades, there is never a need to prove they are good in any given season.
If people were to see the Chiefs, Patriots, etc. with a winning record halfway through the season, they would just assume they are a legitimate team.
For a team like Cleveland, it feels like many think this season is a fluke or a mistake.
Winning is the best way to prove those who think that wrong, and the Browns have a chance to do much more of that the rest of the way this year.
Staying in the Hunt
As a football fan, there’s few things that get the blood flowing faster than seeing your team in the “In the Hunt” graphic on the game-day broadcast.
The playoffs are what it’s all about in the NFL, and they are something Cleveland fans have been craving for almost two decades.
If the season ended today, the Browns would be on the outside looking in.
There are 9 teams in the AFC at 6-3 or better. A couple of good teams, presumably, will be sitting at home come playoff time. Currently the #Ravens and #Browns are the 7th and 8th seeds.
— Adam Crowley (@_adamcrowley) November 16, 2020
The AFC is tough, though, and sitting at 6-3 right now means hanging in there.
With teams like the Chiefs and Steelers moving away from the rest of the field, the Browns will get caught in a cluster of good AFC teams.
The best way to stick with them, of course, is to just keep winning.
Above Average
There is such a difference between being 6-3 and 5-4.
Aside from the obvious numerical difference, the way it makes you feel as a fan changes.
Winning against Houston and getting to 6-3 is a great feeling for Browns fans.
Imagine, though, if they would have blown the 10-0 lead against Houston and fell to 5-4.
The entire demeanor of the team changes, as does the outlook on the second half of the season.
“Bill, the Cleveland Browns have a better record than the Patriots” pic.twitter.com/ai21EyW36L
— J 🐶🏈 (@JohnHillbery) November 17, 2020
Instead of enjoying a “Victory Monday” and talking about playoff scenarios, the conversation would likely revolve around the removal of coaches, players, or both.
5-4 is still above .500, but given the context of how that would have came for the Browns, sitting at 6-3 has placed them in a much better spot moving forward.
Not only that, but again, it continues to show that this year’s team is legitimately above average and not prone to a collapse.
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