DE Myles Garrett isn’t counting the 2-6 Cleveland Browns out of the playoffs. Even if history has something to say about that kind of bravado. Speaking with reporters ahead of Week 9, Garrett thinks a victory Sunday can catapult the Browns into postseason contention.
“When we get this one, it’ll completely change the atmosphere around the team,” Garrett said as shared by Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan’s Twitter/X account. “I think this is a big one for us and we have to go ahead and secure this, go into the bye week, recover…go into these next weeks knowing they’re pretty much all playoff games.”
Delusional? Probably. But Cleveland has reason to feel better than a week ago. In his first start, QB Jameis Winston infused life with offense into this team, throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Hosting the Chargers tomorrow afternoon, another Browns victory would show they can beat quality AFC opponents when Deshaun Watson isn’t dragging down the rest of the team. Cleveland also got back RB Nick Chubb in October, boosting a running game that had been too fleeting since his severe knee injury last season against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A big game from Garrett would help. He’s gone four-straight contests without a sack. In fact, Garrett has struggled getting the quarterback on the ground for an extended stretch with just five sacks over his last 14 regular season games. He’s also averaging barely more than one QB hit per game. Compare that to T.J. Watt, the player he’s most often debated against, who has 12 sacks, 25 QB hits, five forced fumbles, and double his tackles (60 to Garrett’s 30) over the same span.
History says Garrett’s hope won’t come to fruition. Since 1990, teams who have started the year 2-6 have made the playoffs just 1.6-percent of the time, twice out of 129 occasions. A 17-game season theoretically improves those odds a touch but the AFC North will almost certainly have two playoff teams ahead of them in the 6-2 Steelers and 5-3 Ravens. That accounts for the division winner and one Wild Card spot, leaving just two other Wild Card spots up for grabs. The 5-3 Denver Broncos, 4-3 Los Angeles Chargers, 4-4 Indianapolis Colts, and in-division 3-5 Cincinnati Bengals all have better paths to the postseason.
