The Cleveland Browns 2020 season can be hard to put into words. With a first-time, first-year head coach. The youngest general manager in the history of the NFL. A quarterback going into his fourth offense. An offensive line moving a rookie from right tackle to left tackle for the first time. A defense attempting to overhaul itself with a bunch of one-year deals and a few rookies.
On top of all that, a COVID-19 pandemic limited offseason and season somehow turned into an 11 – 5 record, a playoff birth, and a playoff victory.
Putting that into context, given where the Browns have been can be a little difficult. The last time they won double-digit games was in 2007. Since, they have only won at six or more games three times. Since the return in 1999, the Browns had only had two winning seasons before 2020.
Even more astonishing is how historic the turnaround really was for the team:
the Browns in 2020 became the only team in NFL history to go from:
losing record for over 10 straight seasons
to
winning over 10 games in a season
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 1, 2021
Browns fans know the struggles of the team very well but when they are put into that kind of context it is staggering to see.
“The only team in NFL history” has been usually reserved for only negatives for the Browns but, in this case, the Browns futile history makes the turnaround in 2020 all the better.
Now, the Browns go into 2021 needing to build on the success of the previous year. Perhaps the next historical context will be related to “… to make the Super Bowl” or “… to win a Super Bowl.”
For now, Browns fans get to revel in the amazing turnaround in 2020 as they wait patiently for the 2021 season to kickoff.