The Cleveland Browns’ season ended on Christmas Day with a loss to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 24-22, dropping their record to 7-8 and keeping them in last place in the AFC North.
The Browns have just two games left to play, but they still have a shot at the playoffs because a plausible route has begun to form.
Currently, Cleveland has an 11% probability of making the playoffs, which can only be achieved by winning the AFC North, as calculated by advanced analytics website Five Thirty-Eight.
The Browns can still make the playoffs by winning their next two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals, but a defeat in either of those games would end their season.
It wouldn’t be shocking if they got the support they needed to return to the postseason after missing it last year.
Can the Cleveland Browns Make the Playoffs?
With a victory last night, the Cleveland Browns would have had a far better chance of making the playoffs.
The Browns needed to win against the Packers to have any realistic shot at making the playoffs, but with the loss, they can only finish with a 9-8 record at best.
Now, the Browns can’t even be considered for the playoffs until they win their final two games.
In their last two games, they’ll face off against teams from the same division as them, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. Both will be challenging games because of the Bengals’ pursuit of the AFC North title.
Cleveland Browns Hopes Not Completely Dead
Although they can no longer win the AFC North, the Browns still have a chance to make the playoffs. That hipe is likewise really slender.
Soon after Cincinnati’s victory, ESPN’s Jake Trotter tweeted that the Browns would be formally eliminated from playoff contention with a loss by the Chargers to the Broncos.
The Browns must then win their last two games and keep willing different outcomes into existence.
Conclusion
Currently, the Browns are performing poorly. There are still two weeks remaining in the 2021 season, and the Browns might still win the AFC North and make the playoffs.
Both of these assertions are correct, and they demonstrate how volatile the NFL playoff picture can be over the course of a 17-game regular season.
Two consecutive losses for Cleveland this week came against Las Vegas on Monday of Week 15 and then against Green Bay on Saturday of Week 16.
