The Browns have spent the first seven weeks of the season doing something most people didn’t see coming: winning. At 5-2, Cleveland has already cleared the 5.5 wins that had been projected for the entire year, and that alone has changed the conversation around Todd Monken’s team.
What hasn’t changed is the cautionary note hanging over this start. The schedule looks manageable enough to keep Cleveland in the mix for a while, and a .500 finish is at least within reach. But history says teams that jump out like this often come back down.
Mike Sando of The Athletic laid out just how unusual - and fragile - this kind of beginning can be.
"The Browns went 5-12 last season while ranking 32nd in EPA per play on offense and first on defense. They are 5-2 this season while ranking 26th and seventh, respectively," Sando wrote.
"The Browns are one of 167 teams this century to win five of their first seven games. Their point differential in those five victories (16) is tied for last on that list with the 2004 Jaguars.
Those long-ago Jags finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs, like many teams with similar starts."
That’s the trap here. Cleveland has already beaten expectations, but the early numbers show how narrow the margin has been. The Browns have piled up wins without looking like a team that has put everything together, and some of the slow starts and early miscues have made life harder than it needed to be.
Still, the record is the record. They are stacking wins, and that matters more than the noise around the process. Analytics can help explain what’s going on, but the win column is the one that counts, and Cleveland keeps adding to it.
There’s also no denying that this version of the Browns looks more functional than the one that finished 5-12 a year ago. They’ve shown steady signs of progress almost every week, and even if the breakout doesn’t last, they’ve at least established that they’re not far away from being a real threat.
The next step is finding more stability at quarterback. Deshaun Watson has been excellent when it comes to closing games, even if his overall play has been uneven. The coaching has been solid, and the addition of young talent has given this roster a better chance to compete at a higher level.
For now, though, the bigger story is simple: Cleveland is 5-2, and that’s enough to keep the belief alive - even with history warning that this kind of start can slip away.
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Jack Duffin, the teams salary cap analyst, has raised the possibility that Cleveland could actually pass on that option if Verses play does not rebound. If that happens, the Browns would be looking at a very different kind of offseason planning, with defensive end potentially climbing toward the top of the 2027 draft board and a move that once looked simple suddenly becoming one of the more important decisions on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Browns May Face A Tough Shedeur Sanders Decision Before The Deadline
The quarterback market around the league is starting to shift, and Cleveland could soon have a decision to make on one of its more intriguing young pieces. With Deshaun Watson still atop the Browns depth chart, backup Shedeur Sanders has been viewed internally as a developmental player, the kind of quarterback a team likes to keep around while it sorts out the future.
Indianapolis has suddenly become a team to watch after moving Quentin Nelson and DeForest Buckner and entering what looks like a full sell-off following the termination of general manager Chris Ballard. That has led to speculation the Colts could explore a deal for Sanders before the deadline, but nothing has been announced, and the Browns may not be eager to part with a quarterback they have been trying to develop rather than shop. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Fans Are Split On One Risky Answer To Their QB Future
The Browns strong start under Todd Monken has changed the feel around the quarterback conversation in Cleveland, but it has not settled it. At 5-2 and sitting atop the AFC North, the team has given fans a reason to think bigger about the future, even as Deshaun Watsons uneven play keeps the position under a microscope and his looming free agency adds another layer to the debate.
That is why the idea of a swing for Justin Herbert has gained traction in some corners of the fan base, even with his rough statistical season in Los Angeles. The problem is that the fit is far from simple, with Herbert holding a no-trade clause and the Browns current position making any real pursuit feel more like a 2027 conversation than a move that happens anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]