Spencer German and Anthony Moeglin get you ready for Cleveland's first playoff game since 2020. Can a lower seed make a run in the playoffs? It has happened before, it can happen again.
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00:00 Welcome in Browns fans Spencer
00:15 German Anthony Maglin with you
00:17 to start off the super wild card
00:19 weekend Browns get ready to
00:21 visit the Houston Texans for
00:23 the second time in just a
00:24 matter of weeks here looking to
00:26 advance on the playoffs and
00:28 we'll have a ton of stuff
00:29 this time for this game and
00:30 what all that means but I kind
00:32 of want to start with not a
00:34 enough the more like an off the
00:36 the path of just talking X's
00:38 and O's and that type of stuff
00:39 for this game and more like a
00:42 what history says about the
00:44 Browns chances to make the
00:45 playoffs and it's interesting
00:47 Anthony I wrote a piece over at
00:49 Browns digest dot com you guys
00:50 can find it there and breaking
00:54 down essentially the history of
00:57 lower seeded teams so obviously
01:00 we've only had a set of 14 team
01:02 field where there's seven seeds
01:03 on both sides for a couple years
01:04 now but dating back to 1975 when
01:08 you had five or six as as your
01:10 lower seeded teams on either
01:11 side starting with the AFC
01:14 specifically there's only been
01:16 ten teams that have been one of
01:18 those lower seeds and actually
01:20 advance all the way through to
01:22 the AFC championship game it
01:23 kind of puts in context just how
01:25 difficult of a path that has
01:26 been over the course of history
01:27 to get there but I think it's
01:29 worth noting as we go into this
01:31 postseason and talk about how we
01:32 think this Browns team has a
01:34 chance to follow in similar
01:36 footsteps as those ten teams
01:38 yeah no question about it it's
01:39 the path to get there so hard
01:41 it's hard to begin with right
01:43 just playoff football is
01:44 different it's it takes it's a
01:46 different kind of football and
01:47 then add in the fact that you're
01:48 going on the road that every
01:50 every for every game and you
01:51 also wrote a piece about this
01:52 the other the other day too it's
01:54 like the Browns have the second
01:55 best record in all of the AFC
01:57 and they're gonna have to go on
01:58 the road to to to kind of to go
02:01 make a run actually they would
02:02 have had they beat the had they
02:04 beat the Bengals so they played
02:05 well all year don't really get
02:06 rewarded for it and kind of get
02:07 pinned in a really tough
02:09 position and before we even get
02:10 into any of the matchup stuff
02:11 you know they're playing a
02:12 really tough Houston team but
02:14 the the point remains they're
02:16 gonna have to go on the road
02:17 into a tough playoff
02:18 environment but I guess on the
02:20 silver lining side and
02:21 something that I'm excited
02:22 about is that the guy that
02:24 they're that they have playing
02:25 quarterback is familiar in
02:27 these in these situations he's
02:29 five and he's five and all
02:30 wildcard games Joe Flacco that
02:33 is and and he's good in these
02:34 types of environments on the
02:36 road kind of being the enemy so
02:38 that's that's one thing although
02:39 the numbers in history don't
02:41 really lend our direction your
02:43 quarterback kind of can can
02:44 change that and we got a good
02:46 one Joe Flacco yeah I mean I
02:48 think Flacco certainly helps
02:49 ease some of the pain
02:50 especially given how the season
02:52 is played out at the
02:53 quarterback position and you
02:54 finally have a guy you feel
02:55 like stable says stabilize the
02:57 that that spot specifically and
03:00 you pair that with a great
03:01 defense plus you throw in and I
03:04 mentioned this in the piece
03:05 like it almost feels like the
03:06 Browns have this perfect recipe
03:08 with the three big things that
03:09 we're hitting on here
03:10 quarterback play great defense
03:12 and just this belief within that
03:15 locker room that no matter what
03:16 comes their way they can beat
03:18 anybody on any given Sunday any
03:20 given Saturday any given Monday
03:21 whatever the game might be they
03:23 feel good about their chances
03:24 and I think that's just a
03:26 testament to how battle tested
03:27 they've been so I do believe
03:29 that they can make a run it's
03:30 just interesting to kind of see
03:31 that perspectives and I'll sort
03:33 of divulge this a little bit
03:34 further too because 10 teams
03:37 that have made it as lower
03:38 seeds so your five and six seeds
03:40 that have made it to an AFC
03:41 championship game only one has
03:45 gone on to win the Super Bowl
03:47 that was the 2005 Pittsburgh
03:49 Steelers and only two AFC teams
03:52 have even advanced on to the
03:53 Super Bowl you have to go back
03:55 other than that Steelers team
03:56 you have to go back to the 1985
03:58 New England Patriots to find the
03:59 other one and then if you go
04:00 across the aisle to the NFC side
04:03 of things they actually have less
04:05 lower seeds that have made it to
04:07 the conference championship game
04:08 they only have nine since 1975
04:11 but they have actually one more
04:13 Super Bowl champion who has
04:14 pulled it off and those two are
04:15 actually more recent as well for
04:17 people in the recent memory bank
04:18 so Super Bowls of lore of course
04:21 you have the famous 2007 New
04:24 York Giants who knocked off the
04:25 undefeated New England Patriots
04:27 and then the other one at the
04:28 expense of the the Browns biggest
04:30 rival the Pittsburgh Steelers in
04:32 2010 you had the six-seeded Green
04:34 Bay Packers do it as well so
04:36 again minimal sort of the chances
04:39 of getting there are difficult
04:40 but there's there's certainly
04:43 been these teams over the course
04:44 of history that have done it and
04:46 like I said I feel pretty good
04:47 about the idea that the Browns
04:48 could potentially be in that
04:50 same that same conversation even
04:52 though the roads going to be
04:53 tough and think about those two
04:55 of those teams you mentioned
04:56 right the Pittsburgh Steelers of
04:57 the early 2000s what's the first
04:59 thing that come to mind it's not
05:00 the 500 yard games by Ben
05:02 Roethlisberger it's that steel
05:03 curtain defense right it's
05:04 Paulamalu it's those guys who
05:06 just refuse to give up yards on
05:08 the other side of the football
05:09 and and then think about those
05:11 that New York Giants team right
05:12 on the other side of the other
05:14 side of the coin when Eli
05:15 Manning and the boys took that
05:16 down the undefeated Patriots and
05:17 it was like hey what's one of
05:18 those calling cards wasn't
05:20 incredible offense but it was a
05:22 really good defense think about
05:23 Michael Ray hand and guys like
05:24 that well it is in like with
05:26 those Giants teams to like Eli
05:28 always rose to the occasion like
05:30 those two playoff runs like to
05:32 find his career almost he played
05:34 his best in those runs and
05:36 that's similar to Joe Flacco and
05:37 his Super Bowl run in 2012 he
05:39 played some of the best football
05:40 of his career maybe the best
05:41 football of his career in route
05:43 to that Super Bowl championship
05:44 in a Super Bowl MVP and if he
05:46 can replicate that and you get
05:48 that sort of confidence from him
05:49 and he he limits the turnovers
05:50 that we've seen then yeah I
05:52 don't see why the Browns can't
05:54 make a run with him and a great
05:55 defense sort of anchoring you
05:57 through throughout this thing
05:58 yeah you feel really good about
05:59 that and that's what it is man
06:01 all year long it's been the
06:02 defense right the defense has
06:03 kept this team together when we
06:05 were playing with PJ Walker and
06:07 Dorian Thompson Robinson and
06:08 things looked really bleak and
06:09 now that the offense has kind of
06:11 picked up picked up their side
06:13 of the bargain right now you
06:14 have you feel like you have a
06:15 really full team and the two
06:17 teams we talked about who made
06:18 those runs right the Steelers in
06:20 05 and then those Giants teams
06:21 their offenses were kind of
06:23 holding them back similar to how
06:24 we felt earlier in the year well
06:26 if Cleveland can have even half
06:27 of the offense that they've had
06:29 in the past five weeks since
06:30 Flacco's been here you're gonna
06:32 feel really really good about it
06:33 and you know what come what what
06:35 do playoff games come down to
06:36 right just as every other NFL
06:38 game does the final couple
06:39 minutes and you know your
06:40 quarterbacks been there done
06:41 that you know he's played in a
06:42 million playoff games and he's
06:43 won a bunch of them and on the
06:45 flip side especially like this
06:47 week specifically you're
06:48 playing against a rookie who
06:49 yes he's been fantastic and he
06:52 certainly was deserving of the
06:53 MVP conversations that he was in
06:55 before getting hurt but it's
06:57 his first time in the playoffs
06:58 he's he's a cool cucumber man
07:00 he'll come and he'll be ready to
07:01 go but you feel really good
07:03 about your chances with the
07:04 defense you have and the
07:05 experience you have on the
07:06 offensive side of the football
07:07 too I also think too we've hit
07:09 on this a couple times in some
07:10 of our postgame conversations
07:11 and things but the idea that
07:14 the AFC bracket or side of the
07:17 bracket isn't this it doesn't
07:19 feel like it's a gauntlet like
07:20 there there's years where you go
07:21 in and you know like okay the
07:23 Kansas City Chiefs are a
07:24 juggernaut if you get them it's
07:25 like can you just for one game
07:27 limit the damage and beat them
07:29 it doesn't feel like that this
07:30 year with with any of these
07:31 teams and the Ravens are
07:32 probably the closest to that
07:34 but for a brown scene that's
07:35 already beaten them once this
07:36 year and and you feel good
07:39 about like the idea that it's a
07:40 division rival that you know
07:41 pretty well you know what they
07:42 want to do plus they're getting
07:44 two weeks here where they're
07:45 basically not playing some of
07:46 their key starters and that can
07:47 always come back to bite you in
07:48 the butt maybe they get they
07:49 start off sluggish or if the
07:50 offense isn't clicking because
07:51 it took a while for that
07:52 offense to really find the
07:53 rhythm this season I mean the
07:56 Chiefs offense has a lot of
07:57 flaws and if you get in a close
07:59 game with them like you're
08:00 probably going to lean Patrick
08:02 Mahomes over Joe Flacco but
08:03 who's to say that the Browns
08:04 can't pull one out against
08:05 them the only team that really
08:06 I go in and I'm like I'm a
08:08 little weary of that is the
08:09 Bills just because they're
08:10 playing such good football
08:11 right now I shouldn't say that
08:12 they have flaws but they're just
08:14 a hot hot football team and a
08:15 lot of times it's about who
08:16 gets hot at the right time of
08:17 year so like the Ravens and the
08:19 Bills the two teams are like
08:20 maybe I'm a little bit weary of
08:21 but you still feel like you like
08:23 the Browns chances in any of
08:24 those games so I'm not looking
08:26 at the say of see like fearing
08:28 any of these opponents that
08:29 they could potentially face
08:30 which I think also makes me you
08:32 know intrigued by the idea that
08:34 they could become this next low
08:35 seed to make a run yeah that's
08:37 that's exactly what I was going
08:38 to say next was that you know
08:40 match yourself up against any
08:41 team in the AFC bracket what
08:43 what do you think the line is
08:44 right going into the game
08:45 obviously you're probably
08:46 giving up a point or two to to
08:48 Baltimore just because they're
08:49 hot and then every other one
08:50 you're like hey the Browns
08:51 could be favorites you know if
08:53 everyone else if you go in if
08:54 you go in all things considered
08:55 yeah you probably are a little
08:57 bit of an underdog in Buffalo
08:59 but everyone else man why not
09:01 why can't this Browns team you
09:03 know make a run in this AFC
09:05 playoff that is that feels
09:07 wide open because there's so
09:08 many good teams I just think
09:10 it's setting up really good
09:11 really good for Cleveland yes we
09:13 would have loved to get maybe
09:14 Jacksonville or Indianapolis in
09:16 this first round certainly but
09:18 hey you got Houston that's the
09:20 opponent right the only one you
09:22 care about right now is is is
09:23 those Texans and you go down
09:25 take care of business one at a
09:26 time and who knows why can't
09:28 this season end in Las Vegas
09:29 you brought it up earlier and
09:31 this will be our last sort of
09:32 point to hit on here are you a
09:34 do you subscribe to the idea
09:35 that I sort of the story I wrote
09:37 where the playoffs should be
09:39 almost seated receded when you
09:41 get to this time of year
09:42 because my feeling on it is the
09:44 reward for winning your division
09:45 should just be you make the
09:47 playoffs like you're guaranteed
09:49 a spot so the nine and seven or
09:52 the nine and eight rather Tampa
09:55 Bay Buccaneers in the NFC you
09:56 get into the tournament but
09:57 you're the low you're the last
09:59 seed because you have the worst
10:00 record that's that that to me is
10:01 what it should be like you still
10:02 get rewarded for winning your
10:03 division but I think that it
10:05 should be receded because I
10:06 think like the Browns flat like
10:08 they played it think about the
10:10 parameters surrounding them they
10:11 played in maybe the toughest
10:12 division of football still came
10:14 away with 11 wins every team in
10:17 that division finished with a
10:18 winning record you had all the
10:20 injuries you had like to me they
10:22 earned the right to be up there
10:24 with the top teams in this
10:25 conference and unfortunately
10:26 they have to go on the road and
10:27 like I said that's why history
10:29 shows like those teams have to
10:30 go on the road for that long
10:31 stretch of a playoff run it
10:33 doesn't usually work in their
10:34 favor it's funny and I would add
10:36 to that to the opposing
10:38 conference that the North played
10:40 was the NFC West which is
10:42 arguably the second best
10:43 conference in football so there
10:44 was no cakewalks anywhere you
10:46 know it's funny because it's a
10:48 it's a great point your story
10:50 was awesome I suggest everyone
10:51 go check it out but you never
10:53 really affects you till you're in
10:54 it so for us it was like a
10:55 everyone who's whining about that
10:57 just get off your high horse
10:58 during the playoffs but now that
10:59 we're kind of a victim of it
11:01 it's like yeah like why don't
11:02 they why does it why don't they
11:04 do it like the NBA where it's
11:05 like Hey when your division
11:07 you're in but it's all based off
11:09 of all based off of your record
11:11 which I feel it should be
11:12 Browns would be a three seed
11:13 with the way it is right now and
11:15 you'd be you'd feel pretty good
11:16 about any team coming to come to
11:18 Cleveland Browns yeah but you
11:20 know you get the whole point
11:21 everything yeah I think we're
11:23 onto something here hopefully
11:24 the NFL listens to us everyone
11:26 on the rules this this spring
11:27 all right well I'll do it guys
11:29 like I said we're gonna be
11:30 popping on some combination of
11:32 myself Anthony Brendan throughout
11:34 the week giving you guys some
11:35 some information some storylines
11:37 some some topics of discussion
11:39 as he counts you down inch
11:40 closer and closer of course to
11:42 Super Bowl car weekend Browns
11:44 opening it up with that big game
11:46 at the Houston Texans on
11:48 Saturday night four thirty
11:50 kickoff on NBC and of course
11:52 Peacock if you so choose to
11:53 watch it there but- yeah it's a
11:56 big week for the Browns out of
11:57 Rio will have you covered as
11:59 always on the Browns digest
12:00 YouTube page and of course at
12:02 bronze digest dot com.
12:06 Thank you.
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