The Cleveland Browns have a slim chance to make the NFL playoffs despite being only a half-game back of a playoff spot during their bye week. The five teams between them and the seventh seed, along with their very difficult closing schedule, make their chances of going back to back in the playoffs minute.
Until the Browns are eliminated, we will continue to look at what games will impact their chances. There are six of them in Week 13:
1 PM Games
Chargers vs Bengals
With the AFC North seemingly out of reach, rooting for Cincinnati here is a little easier. Los Angeles beat Cleveland earlier this year while the Browns defeated the Bengals in their first matchup. A loss drops the Chargers to a 6-6 tie with Cleveland.
Colts vs Texans
Indianapolis is also 6-6 at this point in the season after a lackluster start. Houston, on the other hand, is struggling mightily. While unlikely, Browns fans are hoping the Texans can pull off a home game upset.
4 PM Games
Washington vs Las Vegas – 4:05 PM
The Raiders are one of Cleveland’s final five opponents and sit with a better record at this point. Can Washington go on the road and get a win against the up and down home team?
Ravens vs Steelers – 4:25 PM
This one is a little hard to root for either team but Cleveland needs teams directly in front of them eliminated. A Baltimore win helps that and could set the Ravens up for a letdown against the Browns in Week 14.
Sunday Night Football
Broncos vs Chiefs
Another simple game to pick which side Cleveland is rooting for. Denver lost to the Browns while Kansas City beat them. The Broncos are also just a half-game ahead of Cleveland in the standing right now. A Chiefs victory is the hope for Browns fans.
Monday Night Football
Patriots vs Bills
An interesting game where, again, Cleveland is rooting for the team with the better record to win. In this case, New England has already beaten the Browns so adding another loss to Buffalo could be helpful even if Cleveland doesn’t have a strong chance to catch the Bills.
Best Case Scenario
If all six games above go the Browns way, the team would move into a tie for the seventh seed. While some tiebreakers are hard to figure out, Cleveland would jump Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Denver in this scenario.
The Browns lose any tiebreakers with Los Angeles who would stay in the seventh seed in this scenario.
While the odds of all six games going the Browns way aren’t high, there is still hope that the team will enter Week 14 with a real chance to make a playoff push. They can help themselves with wins against the Steelers, Raiders,Bengals and Ravens, all teams ahead of them in the AFC, among their last five opponents.
Playoffs?! There’s still a chance.