The Browns took a hard fall in Jason La Canfora’s latest NFL power rankings, and the drop says as much about how the league views Cleveland as it does about the loss itself.
After getting upset by the New York Jets, the Browns slid from No. 12 to No. 23 in FanSided’s rankings. They absolutely earned a hit for that performance. But the size of the plunge makes it feel like the reaction went well beyond one bad Sunday.
“That could prove to be a really bad loss at the Jets. We buy this Browns defense, which is no small thing," La Canfora wrote. "But sustaining a modicum of success is something that has eluded this franchise for so long, and we had to ding them for following up the upset over the Steelers with this stinker.”
That’s the tell. The criticism isn’t really just about this season - it leans on Cleveland’s history, on what the Browns have been before Todd Monken’s team ever took shape.
And that’s where the frustration comes in. This is a team with a new coaching staff, a new offense, and a roster built around multiple rookie and second-year starters.
KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, Harold Fannin Jr. and Carson Schwesinger all came in during this new stretch, with Fannin Jr. and Schwesinger arriving in the 2025 NFL Draft. Whatever Cleveland did in previous years, it’s a different operation now.
That doesn’t mean the Browns should skate for the Jets loss. Concepcion’s first-half injury changed the game, the weather was awful, and losing starting right tackle Tytus Howard was another major setback. Even so, Cleveland came in with a shaky plan and didn’t execute.
What rankles is the gap between how the Browns were treated and how other teams were handled. How do Cleveland end up three spots behind the 2-3 Dallas Cowboys, 2-3 Philadelphia Eagles and 3-1-1 New York Giants? And how are the 1-4 Houston Texans sitting 15th after beating the 0-5 Tennessee Titans?
The Browns can’t seem to get the benefit of the doubt, even when the loss came in a road game in a monsoon. Instead, they’re still fighting the same uphill battle: the opponent, their own mistakes and the league’s view of them.
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