Early this season, when Nick Chubb, their star running back, suffered a season-ending knee injury, the Cleveland Browns looked to be doomed to their usual hard-luck year.
But despite many more key injuries, they have kept winning games with regularity, something they have rarely done over the past few decades.
After defeating the New York Jets on Thursday, they hold an 11-5 record, and they will be heading to the playoffs for only the third time since their current iteration began play in 1999.
Nick Wright said on Fox Sports 1’s “First Things First” that while the Browns are unlikely to reach the Super Bowl, they “can beat anybody,” noting they have defeated seven teams with winning records.
“The Browns can beat anybody.”
— @getnickwright on if Cleveland is a dangerous playoff team: pic.twitter.com/VqPMNKCODn
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) December 29, 2023
One other big piece of adversity Cleveland has had to deal with is the absence of starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was shut down for the year due to a shoulder injury.
In came 38-year-old QB Joe Flacco, who hadn’t played yet this season until the team picked him up in late November.
In five games with the Browns, he has thrown 13 touchdown passes, and he has guided them to a four-game winning streak.
Flacco has electrified Northeast Ohio, and fans now have a reason to be stoked about the Browns for one of the few times since the days of Bernie Kosar.
The team will face the Cincinnati Bengals on the road on Jan. 7 to wrap up the regular season, and another win could give them optimal playoff seeding, not to mention a favorable matchup in its first playoff game.
The post Nick Wright Says 1 AFC Team ‘Can Beat Everybody’ appeared first on The Cold Wire.