The Cleveland Browns could be eliminated from playoff contention at the conclusion of the 1 PM games of Week 17. The Browns could also control their playoff destiny by that same time. Cleveland could also be somewhere in between after Sunday.
Two games at 1 PM have the biggest impact on the team’s playoff hopes.
Those two games, plus the Browns final two games of the season, could lead the team to the AFC North championship and hosting a playoff game on wild card weekend. They could also lead Cleveland to be drafting somewhere near the top ten of the 2022 NFL draft.
The variability left in the 2021 NFL season is staggering for the Browns and their fanbase. Expectations had given way to hope and, for many, have now given way to despair. A few games late in the season could change all of that.
It could also change the future for the Cleveland Browns as well.
Baker Mayfield has been the center of a lot of hope and angst this season for the Browns and their fans. Such is the life of an NFL quarterback. Following the 2020 season where the team ended strong on offense, many were bought into Mayfield as the future. Near the end of the 2021 season, very few are.
So what would a playoff appearance, second year in a row, do for the team and Mayfield? Talking through that question from both sides: