Tag: playoff hopes

Bengals win AFC North, Browns still have slight playoff hopes

Bengals take the division. Browns playoff hopes rely on a lot of games starting with one in progress during the 4 PM slate of games:

The Cincinnati Bengals are the AFC North champions after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17. The Bengals came back from being down 14-0, 21-7 and 28-14 to win 34-31. Cincinnati benefited from some iffy calls by the officials but was able to milk the clock with a 15 play, 79-yard drive that chewed the last six minutes of the game

With the win and the AFC North title, the Bengals make it very difficult for the Cleveland Browns to make the playoffs. At the end of the 1 PM set of games, the team’s hopes are slim but possible.

The Browns must win both of their games starting with Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That game may not matter if the Denver Broncos are not able to beat the San Diego Chargers during the 4 PM window of Week 17.

If the Broncos win this week and Cleveland wins both of their games, the Browns still need Denver to win again in Week 18, Miami to lose to New England and the Chargers to beat Las Vegas in the finale.

The odds of everything going Cleveland’s way are very small at this point.

It will be interesting if the Browns hold out injured players like Baker Mayfield, Kareem Hunt and Myles Garrett on Monday if they are eliminated before the game starts.

Browns playoff hopes: Three primary games in Week 17

The Browns don’t play until Monday but two vital games on Sunday at 1 PM could decide their playoff fate:

The Cleveland Browns have playoff hopes. They are alive and well going into Week 17. Quickly, they could go from alive to basically dead depending on the result of one game.

We start with the team’s wild-card hopes: They are slim. The Browns would need a wild combination of factors to go their way over the final two weeks to be able to claim a wild card spot. If all of the Week 17 games go in the right way, we will cover in detail what would need to happen in Week 18.

Suffice to say, Cleveland could still make the playoffs even if their hopes of the AFC North are squashed on Sunday. It won’t be easy but it still could be possible.

What is very simple, for either their hopes of winning the AFC North or the wild card spot, is that the Browns must win both of their final two games to have any shot at the playoffs. From a chronological perspective, their game comes last in Week 17 but nothing matters if they don’t beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.

Before that game comes two vital games, both at 1 PM Sunday. The first is the Cincinnati Bengals versus the Kansas City Chiefs. This is the most important game for Cleveland. If the Bengals win, the AFC North crown will not come to northern Ohio in 2021 and that will leave the Browns praying for a wild card miracle.

The second game is also at 1 PM with the Baltimore Ravens facing the Los Angeles Rams. While this game is less important, the Ravens just have to lose one of their last two, a Baltimore loss would set up Cleveland nicely to control their destiny going into Week 18.

For the Browns it is very simple for Week 17:

Bengals loss + Ravens loss + Browns win = Cleveland control destiny for AFC North crown

Bengals loss + Ravens win + Browns win = Cleveland needs to win in Week 18 and have Baltimore lose to Pittsburgh to win AFC North

Bengals win = Cleveland out of AFC North picture and, depending on other Week 17 results, slim hope of wild card

Browns lose = Cleveland out of any playoff hopes in 2021

Browns playoff hopes: Thankfully, Chiefs and Rams have something to play for

Two games at 1 PM Sunday could put the Browns in the driver seat of their playoff hopes. Thankfully, the two teams Cleveland needs to win are still playing for something:

The Cleveland Browns currently do not control their own destiny to make the NFL playoffs but that could change by the start of their next game. The two games that do not involve the Browns directly, but that Cleveland needs to go a certain way for them to make the playoffs, take place this Sunday at 1 PM.

The Browns are hoping for the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Cincinnati Bengals with the Chiefs a road favorite. Cleveland is also hoping for the Los Angeles Rams to go on the road to beat the Baltimore Ravens, a cross country game at 1 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Thankfully for the Browns, both the Chiefs and Rams have something to play for in Week 17. Kansas City holds a one-game lead on the Tennesee Titans for the top seed, and a bye, in the AFC. Los Angeles is one game back of Green Bay, and tied with two other teams, at 11-4.

The Chiefs are looking to hold on to that top spot in the AFC while the Rams look to make a push to upend the Packers for the bye in the NFC.

Cleveland needs Kansas City to win and hopes Los Angeles can overcome the long plane ride and time change. If the Ravens beat the Rams, Cleveland would need them to lose against Pittsburgh in the final week of the season. At that point, the Steelers might be hoping to send Ben Roethlisberger out on top with a win over their rival.

Of course, none of that matters unless the Browns can win their two games.

Browns playoff hopes focus on AFC North games in Week 16

The AFC wild card is a mess with the Browns having a lot of needs to make that run. Instead, we focus on the games in Week 16 that impact the AFC North race:

The Cleveland Browns have slim hopes of making a run at the AFC wild card. The team would have to win out against a tough schedule and hope for some losses from the eight teams above them in the wild card race.

The AFC North, on the other hand, is still winnable if the Browns lose against the Green Bay Packers. Unlikely but possible given the number of difficult games on each team’s schedule.

Due to this, unless something changes, we will only focus on games each week that could impact the AFC North race. If Cleveland drops out of that race, we will then turn to look at draft seeding more.

For Week 16, besides their game with the Packers, the following games matter for the Browns slim playoff hopes:

Sunday 1 PM

Bengals vs Ravens

A game where it is difficult to root for either team, Cleveland is rooting for Cincinnati to continue Baltimore’s slide. With a Ravens loss, the Browns can then take out the Bengals in the final week of the season to hold the tiebreaker over them.

Chiefs vs Steelers

At 7-6-1, Pittsburgh can make math difficult moving forward due to their tie. While Kansas City has been on a roll lately, they are expected to be without their top two weapons for Patrick Mahomes due to COVID-19. Cleveland is rooting for the Chiefs to still pull out the victory at home.

With a matchup next week, Cleveland doesn’t have to have Pittsburgh lose this week but it is helpful especially if the Browns can’t pull off their own upset.

With a Browns win against Green Bay, quite difficult but anything is possible, and the two games above going their way, Cleveland would be a game behind the Bengals, tied with the Ravens and a half-game up on the Steelers going into the final two weeks of the season.

If all three games go Cleveland’s way, the Browns would control their own destiny for the playoffs. First, they are hoping for a Christmas miracle in Lambeau.