Three Biggest Games: Cleveland Browns
As is always the case with the NFL’s most dysfunctional franchise, this upcoming season is full of questions surrounding the Cleveland Browns. Will Johnny Manziel reclaim the starting job and begin to show improvement under center? Can head coach Mike Pettine make further strides after a promising rookie season? Will those sharp, new uniforms look as spiffy on the field as the do in the photo shoots? We can’t answer these questions yet, but we can address the team’s three biggest games in 2015.
Week 12 vs. Baltimore Ravens
As far as division rivalries go, this has been one of the more one-sided contests in recent years. However, that doesn’t mean the hatred isn’t still there, especially on the Browns’ side. 2015 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Ravens franchise; an organisation founded on the bones of Art Modell’s old Browns. The Dawg Pound still carries those scars, and hasn’t forgotten the heartache that permeated from fighting to reinstate its beloved franchise. On a cold Monday night in Cleveland, expect the Browns – fresh off the bye week – to pummel the birds into submission in front of a raucous crowd.
Week 15 at Seattle Seahawks
By this time last year, the Browns certainly weren’t playing their best football, yet somehow still found themselves clinging onto the hope of a division title. Whether or not their early-season success can be recreated in 2015 amidst a stacked AFC North remains to be seen, but if it can, then this clash in the Pacific Northwest could make or break Cleveland’s playoff chances. A sleeper pick for a potential ‘game of the year’, except a black-and-blue affair between two run-first offenses and stingy defenses.
Week 17 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Cleveland faithful will have to wait until the final game of the regular season to ‘welcome’ long-time rivals Pittsburgh to their home turf. One of the league’s oldest rivalries took an interesting turn last season, with the Browns losing a heartbreaker on opening weekend, only to dominate the Steelers a mere month later. Cleveland’s playoff chances aside, the fans will take great pleasure in the opportunity to play spoiler to a Pittsburgh outfit holding high hopes in 2015. If however, both teams are on the brink of clinching a playoff spot, don’t be surprised to see this one flexed to primetime. Provided Johnny Manziel is kept upright enough to play, that is.
