So that’s that.
In a yawner of a Super Bowl, the Eagles flexed their considerable roster muscle and outclassed the Chiefs, 40-22, in somewhat humiliating fashion. Losing GMs throughout the NFL looked on with fawning envy, including those in the AFC North.
While the AFC North’s collective outcome wasn’t too awful at .500 (34-34 overall), it’s also not very good – isn’t a .500 record the very definition of mediocrity?
Over the next month or so, I’ll offer a few paragraphs on each team’s 2024 outing and potential offseason direction. This installment covers the division’s last-place team.
Enjoy.
Cleveland Browns (3-14)
Whither now, Andrew Berry?
The 2024 Browns fell well short of expectations, considering they’d rallied to claim a playoff spot in 2023 and were returning the majority of the roster and coaching staff. Then-reigning Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski was still in the fold and was deemed largely responsible for the offensive successes the team had enjoyed. When then-savior QB Joe Flacco (inexplicably) moved on to the Colts, the Browns signed QB Jameis Winston to be the primary backup. Former battering ram RB Nick Chubb was slated to return to the field at some point in the 2024 season, bolstering further hopes of another playoff run.
Well…
The Browns lost six of their first seven games in 2024, topping only the lowly Jaguars in week 2. The rest of the season provided just two more wins; one each against the Ravens and Steelers, ironically the division’s two playoff teams. Chubb never returned to form and has since entered free agency.
It’s tough to pinpoint only a few areas of concern, but the most obvious was – and is – with embattled (and oft-broken) QB Deshaun Watson, who’s been paid $184 million of the guaranteed $230 million contract he signed in 2022. Watson has played 19 of a possible 57 games since signing the then-record deal. In 2024, Watson appeared in seven games, with 1,148 yards passing and five TD passes, with three interceptions and a 63.4% completion rate. After suffering an Achilles tear, he was replaced by the affable-yet-erratic Winston, whose up-and-down performances reminded the team and the NFL why he’s simply not trustworthy on the field.
The offense wasn’t all bad. WR Jerry Jeudy posted career highs in several categories, including catches (90), receiving yards (1,229) and targets (145). TE David Njoku posted another solid year with 64 catches and five TDs.
Defensively, the Browns remain talented and better than most, but were hit with assorted injuries and the added onus of having to play from behind in nearly all of their games. Ranked 19th at season’s end, the team suffered injury losses at costly times. LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was lost after week 8 due to a neck injury. Multiple players suffered concussions at various points. In the midst of this inconsistency and bad luck, DE Myles Garrett collected another 14 sacks, including his career 100th.
The special teams were decidedly not…special. PK Dustin Hopkins was wholly inconsistent and unpredictable, connecting on just 18 of 27 FG attempts, with a season long of 56 yards. In contrast, P Corey Bojorquez was excellent, possibly the team’s best offensive weapon.
So, now what? The offseason has already seen Garrett, the team’s most marketable superstar, demand and rescind a trade, which earned him a substantial new deal with the team. One of the “conditions” Garrett claimed to have had for re-signing was that the team showed a renewed dedication to improving the roster overall. Predicting the Browns draft is the proverbial fool’s errand, as the team has multiple needs and multiple ways to fulfill them. Given their clear need for a trustworthy QB, opinions seem to lean in that direction, but as many have noted, this is not a draft class that’s replete with solid signal-callers.
As always with the Browns, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
