The Cleveland Browns clinched a playoff birth against the Jets tonight; they currently sit at the fifth seed but still have the potential to become the number one seed. Spencer German and Anthony Moeglin discuss how far they think the Browns can go in the playoffs.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Browns 37 Jets 20.
00:10 The playoffs are a reality Cleveland fans as the Browns lock up at least the five seed
00:16 in the AFC playoff picture chance to still obviously become that number one seed.
00:21 And I think that's part of the equation when we talk about this next topic of conversation
00:24 Anthony which is how far can this Browns team really go on a playoff run.
00:30 I think if you would if you had told me and I think if you had told a lot of Browns fans
00:35 that a team deal with the number of injuries they've been dealing with.
00:40 Sean Watson Jack Conklin Nick Chuck the list goes on and on.
00:45 And you told me on December 28th I guess December 29th now we're recording this.
00:51 They would be 11 and 5 and in the playoffs.
00:53 I think most fans would have thought you're you're crazy.
00:56 It's not going to happen.
00:57 There's just no way.
00:58 And for them to be in this position is obviously great in its own right.
01:01 But now reality starts to set in and you start to wonder how far can this team really go
01:06 as they continue to rise toward this Joe Flacco way.
01:11 Yeah no.
01:12 So this this group for me man it comes down to a couple of things and you know it's funny
01:15 when you say that it's like hey what can what is this team.
01:19 Would you be surprised hearing that Joe Flacco is coming.
01:22 And I think back to what Kevin Stefanski said a couple of nights ago and he was like it's
01:25 the NFL.
01:26 It's a totally unpredictable league and you know anything can happen.
01:30 And because of that you know I do truly believe that you know this team can make a run.
01:36 And you know I'm trying to look at it from an objective perspective right.
01:39 Obviously we've been covering the Browns.
01:41 We're Browns fans in that respect.
01:44 It's like hey can this team actually make a run.
01:46 And really when you look at the playoffs it's quarterbacks run game and defense like those
01:51 are what those are what it is.
01:53 You know those are what drive drive teams.
01:55 And when you look at what what where do the Browns check the boxes.
01:58 Well your quarterback is a Super Bowl MVP in the past.
02:01 Right.
02:02 It was a decade ago.
02:03 He's playing good football right now.
02:04 But more importantly he's done it before.
02:06 He's gone on long playoff runs and done it the way that he's going to need to do it in
02:12 this one right where you rely on the defense to make plays and you don't.
02:16 We got to fix the turnover problem.
02:17 You got to be got to be careful with the football.
02:20 And then the other thing is the run game.
02:23 We saw it come back to life tonight.
02:24 The last couple of weeks have been tough.
02:25 We've been playing three or four really really good run defenses and they've really stifled
02:30 the Browns.
02:31 But tonight you saw against a below average run defense and it was great.
02:34 Russ for 127 yards and more importantly spent you control the clock and you were able to
02:40 just bleed the game out towards the end.
02:42 But in the first half you were able to make big runs to kind of extend drive.
02:45 So I think if you have those three things you have the ability to make a run in.
02:49 And honestly the Browns have those.
02:51 They have the ingredients to make it happen.
02:54 Yeah I mean barring any other major injuries which you know I think all of Cleveland is
02:59 crossing their fingers doing any kind of superstitions they have to try to make sure that doesn't
03:04 happen the rest of the way.
03:05 But bar any more significant injuries because you have this elite defense and they say you
03:10 know defense travels is supposed to be the thing right.
03:13 And I understand there was a stretch there.
03:15 Browns defense wasn't playing so well on the road.
03:17 They look they look better against the Texans last last weekend which I know the Texans
03:22 obviously struggled in that game.
03:23 They didn't have CJ Stroud so better quarterback play.
03:25 Maybe it's a different situation but I think the defense being what it is and being as
03:30 dominant as it is and knowing that that unit on any given day can just shut a team down
03:35 completely gives you a chance.
03:37 I think the flag to the point to what you said about Joe Flacco and the way that he's
03:41 playing right now gives you a chance.
03:43 I mean when you get to the playoffs it comes down to really those two things.
03:47 You have a defense your defense doesn't even have to be the like like the Browns defense
03:52 has been elite this year.
03:53 You don't even have to be the best defense in football when you get to the playoffs.
03:57 You just have to be a defense that is opportunistic.
03:59 Like if you're getting turnovers or they turn those into points are you scoring off immediately
04:03 on the defense side of the ball.
04:05 Are you holding teams to field goals rather than touchdowns.
04:07 I always say red zone and third down are two of the biggest key things I look at in a box
04:11 score every single week to tell me like how good a team did or didn't do because or how
04:16 good a defense is or isn't because nowadays you're going to give up the chunk plays sort
04:20 of across the in the middle of the field.
04:22 You're going to give up a lot of yardage.
04:23 It's just kind of the nature of the NFL.
04:26 But are you stopping teams from punching it in for six.
04:29 I think it's huge.
04:30 And so I think if you ride that and you and Joe Flacco continues playing at the level
04:34 he's playing at.
04:35 Why can't this team make a run.
04:36 I'm not saying it's going to happen.
04:37 I'm not going to sit here and guarantee.
04:39 Hey they're going to they're going to chase the Lombardi sign them up.
04:42 They're going to be in Las Vegas in February.
04:44 I'm not going to say that here today but if you told me given everything that we've seen
04:48 this season if you told me that this team was going to go to the Super Bowl I wouldn't
04:52 I would like if somebody came from the future and right now next to me jumped on this video
04:57 and said the Browns are going to be playing in the Super Bowl I wouldn't I wouldn't I
05:01 wouldn't doubt it.
05:02 I'd be like OK I could see that happening.
05:05 And there's there's certainly a path and you look around look around the AFC right.
05:09 You know everyone in the playoffs you know the one the potential one seed.
05:13 If the playoffs started today the one seed we beat on their home turf.
05:18 I was it was a month and a half ago but we've done it right.
05:21 We have the only team left in the AFC where I think the Browns wouldn't be favorites against.
05:27 And well there's probably two and it's probably the Dolphins and the Bills outside of the
05:31 Ravens.
05:32 So you look at that and you're like OK you're not going to play all three of them.
05:35 You know take care of business.
05:36 But the thing the thing with the Bills though too is assuming things hold where they're
05:40 at.
05:41 Now the Bills still have a chance to win the division.
05:42 But if things held where they were at the Bills would be coming to you if you had to
05:45 if you had to play the Bills in the playoffs because you'd finish ahead of them.
05:48 It's a great point.
05:49 And that goes for either either the Miami or or Buffalo.
05:53 Whoever has to come to Cleveland potentially whoever would be that sixth seed you know
05:57 that I think you're a favorite against them right.
05:59 So then you're only not a favorite against two teams.
06:02 And we know what that means.
06:03 Right means nothing.
06:04 The favorites mean nothing.
06:05 We watched it all year.
06:06 We watched this Browns team be underdogs all season long and just find different and unique
06:11 ways to win.
06:12 There's no reason that they can't string together a couple of wins and find themselves playing
06:16 for an AFC championship game.
06:17 I wouldn't be surprised.
06:18 Yeah.
06:19 And I think that's that's maybe another larger point here is just the AFC has felt wide open
06:23 all season.
06:24 And I think that's very much the case going to the playoffs like yeah the Ravens they
06:28 looked really good against the 49ers the other night.
06:30 Don't get it twisted.
06:31 I'm not trying to say that that team's not good and they don't deserve a lot of the praise.
06:34 I think they finally showed their true potential in that game on Christmas Day.
06:40 But the Browns have beaten them and we know that they're still susceptible to blowing
06:44 fourth quarter leads and all these different things like I'm not I'm not the Browns have
06:48 beaten them the Browns have beaten the Jaguars the Browns have beaten Houston who's in the
06:52 playoff picture.
06:53 There's some teams around them that they faced and they have taken care of.
06:56 And I think at this point they they've earned the right to prove us wrong essentially like
07:02 they've earned the right to go out and prove that they can't win those games before we
07:08 have to sit here and say like they can't absolutely they definitely can't do it.
07:11 So yeah I think that between the two key things that the Browns have kind of considered strengths
07:17 right now their defense and Joe Flacco and the way the offense has played in the passing
07:21 game lately and just the outlook of the AFC.
07:25 Why can't this team make a deep playoff run.
07:28 It feels like the team of destiny and tomorrow when we wake up I guess today when we wake
07:32 up in a couple hours you know that the national narrative is going to change around this group
07:36 and this is a team that other teams aren't going to want to see.
07:39 To be frankly honest with you this offense is clicking the defense is very very good
07:43 and they're going to be a tough out whether they have to go to Miami or whether they have
07:46 to go to Jacksonville or Houston or Indy wherever they got to go.
07:49 No team is going to want to face the Cleveland Browns on the other side of the football and
07:52 I will do.
07:54 I think you're 100 percent right.
07:55 We mentioned the other team I don't think teams want to face in the Buffalo Bills.
07:58 I truly believe that two teams that the top seeds in the AFC won't want to see will be
08:04 the Bills and the Browns 100 percent.
08:07 Those are not teams that you want to show up at your building because from the bill
08:10 standpoint maybe they had a little bit of a down year this year but that offense can
08:14 put up numbers on you from the Browns standpoint.
08:17 They're calloused man.
08:18 They've been through so much.
08:20 Do you really want to face a team that's seen that much adversity and overcome it all.
08:23 They're just a tough group and that's a scary prospect for anybody who sees them in the
08:27 playoffs and it feels like to me Spence and correct me if you think differently but it
08:32 feels like the Browns can play with nothing to lose and it feels like that's kind of what
08:35 you're doing right now.
08:36 You know it's like screw it.
08:37 We don't have any of our starting players like we're all beat up or all this or all
08:41 that.
08:42 Why not.
08:43 Why not just like let it let the ball roll and let Joe Flacco throw it 45 times for three
08:47 hundred ninety yards and four picks and four touchdowns like who cares.
08:51 Like let's just go and try to win football games and scratch and claw and punch and fight
08:56 until we do so.
08:57 It's a it's a it's a it's a good place to be when you're on that side of the coin on
09:02 some level it does feel like they're kind of playing with house money especially when
09:05 you consider all the injuries they've had this year and they're still in this position.
09:10 It's going to be interesting to see what is in store for this team beyond week 18.
09:15 We still have some time to get there but obviously I know Cleveland you're enjoying this win
09:19 at the moment and you're saying you're soaking it all in celebrating the Browns clinching
09:24 the playoff berth as you rightly should and we'll be able to talk about what lies ahead
09:28 for this Browns and the Browns in the playoffs in the coming days and weeks right here on
09:33 the Browns Digest YouTube page and of course all as always over at Browns Digest dot com.
09:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]