SI: Brace yourself for a world where the Browns are contenders

[MoFlo]

This is going to take some getting used to, the reality that it’s mid-October and the Cleveland Browns are relevant. And for real.

That wasn’t just another win the resurgent Browns registered over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday afternoon at Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium. That was a total domination, to the tune of 31-10. It was an emphatic statement of arrival for a team that is gaining legitimacy and confidence by the week.

Six weeks into the regular season, the Browns (3-2) are over .500 for the first time, riding a two-game winning streak and starting to look like a team that will be in every game it plays this season. And the best is yet to come for Mike Pettine’s resilient and resourceful team.

Browns fans may rightfully think it doesn’t get any better than blowing out the Steelers by three touchdowns, scoring 31 unanswered points in the process to knock off Ben Roethlisberger for just the second time in 20 tries. But Sunday’s rout may be just the start of things this season in Cleveland. The Browns' ceiling rises with each impressive display.

The Browns’ next three opponents are Jacksonville, Oakland and Tampa Bay, a trio of last-place clubs that are a combined 1-16 so far in 2014. By Week 10, the long-downtrodden Browns could easily be the toast of the NFL at 6-2 and preparing to travel to defending AFC North champion Cincinnati with first place on the line in the division. The matchup against the Bengals is the only time Cleveland will face a club that currently has a winning record between now and Week 14, a span of seven games. By then, the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2002 could be well within its sights.

Imagine that. It may still be hard to fathom where this season might be headed in Cleveland, but the picture is getting clearer by the week. This was supposed to be Johnny Manziel’s team by now, with the rookie quarterback showing us where the Browns’ future lies. Instead it remains Brian Hoyer’s moment, and there’s seemingly history to be made every time Cleveland takes the field.

Last Sunday at Tennessee, it was the Browns earning their first road win in more than a year and doing it in record-breaking style, mounting the biggest road comeback in league history (25 points). This week, on a picture-perfect day in downtown Cleveland, the Browns handed the Steelers (3-3) their worst defeat in the series since a 51-0 drubbing in 1989. Since trailing 27-3 at halftime to Pittsburgh at Heinz Field in Week 1, Cleveland has outscored the Steelers 55-13 -- and that margin was 55-6 until Pittsburgh scored a garbage-time touchdown with less than three minutes remaining on Sunday.

The Browns had played nothing but close games entering Week 6, but after a sluggish first quarter, they finally put things together against Pittsburgh, taking control of the game thanks to a flurry of 21 second-quarter points. After trailing the Titans 28-3 in the first half last week, the Browns went on a 57-3 run over the span of their next five-plus quarters, overwhelming both Tennessee and Pittsburgh in the process. Cleveland has now scored at least 21 points in each of its first five games, the second-longest such streak to start a season in franchise history. The Browns' two losses have been by a combined five points, to Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

The Cleveland-area native Hoyer is not only one of the best stories in the NFL this season; he’s also in position to become one of the league’s biggest winners this offseason. Hoyer is a free-agent-to-be in 2015, and he’s going to get paid well by someone in the near future, if not the Browns. His strong play is earning him great leverage in Cleveland, and if it continues to build, the Browns face the decision of whether to offer him starter’s money and keep Manziel on the bench. Offering Manziel in a trade is another scenario that no longer seems far-fetched.

Hoyer was only 8-of-17 passing against the Steelers, but he got the absolute most out of the plays he made, throwing for 217 yards and a touchdown (a 51-yard connection with tight end Jordan Cameron) without an interception. His biggest completions went for 51, 31, 31, 24 and 17 yards, and he’s 6-2 as Cleveland’s starter since the start of 2013, unheard-of success for a Browns team that has been a disaster zone for quarterbacks since re-entering the league as a 1999 expansion effort.

The regular season’s final 11 games will likely decide the Browns' quarterback drama, but for now, the fun continues in northeast Ohio. The Browns are making their mark in a tough AFC North, and there’s still plenty of room to climb. As the weeks unfold, a season that few saw coming keeps getting better in Cleveland.

-Pittsburgh isn't used to hearing its team referred to as the last-place Steelers, but it’s well-deserved at the moment. Mike Tomlin’s team looked lifeless for much of the game in Cleveland, and even when it dominated the Browns statistically in the first quarter, two long Steelers drives produced just a Shaun Suisham field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Roethlisberger still owns the Browns over the course of his career, but his 18-2 mark against them can’t hide the fact that he never laid a glove on Cleveland in this game. He was 21-of-42 for 228 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, but the Browns made Big Ben look out of sync and frustrated at times.

You still can’t get a handle on what you’re going to get from this Steelers team from quarter to quarter, let alone week to week. Pittsburgh has alternated wins and losses in each of the season’s six weeks, but its inability to put four quality quarters together has been maddening. Are the Steelers the team that took apart Carolina in the second half in Charlotte or the team that struggled to beat Jacksonville and let one slip away late against Tampa Bay?

I know two consecutive 8-8 seasons in 2012-13 were deemed unacceptable in Pittsburgh, but maybe mediocrity is exactly where this franchise now resides.

-It wasn’t all sunshine and high-fives in Cleveland for the Browns, however. The loss of starting center Alex Mack to a likely broken left leg is a potentially crushing blow. Mack was replaced by guard John Greco, but Mack is a Pro Bowl talent and one of Cleveland’s team leaders. The sixth-year veteran had never missed a snap in his career before he was hurt, participating in 5,429 consecutive plays entering Sunday.

Mack was hurt at the bottom of a pile, and the injury shook up his teammates. "It was pretty emotional, for me especially," Browns left tackle Joe Thomas told ESPN.com. "We have played every snap together for six years." The Browns' running game has been a team strength this year and produced three more rushing touchdowns against the Steelers, including two by Ben Tate. That gives Cleveland three games this season with two or more scores on the ground, the same number of times the Browns accomplished that feat over the span of 2011-13.

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/10/12/nf...ian-hoyer-dallas-cowboys-bengals-panthers-tie

Loving it!

 

[The Oi]

No Browns fan would have ever written that article.

Fun while it lasted.

 

[Binkster]

I'm so not used to this. Turning the corner.

 

[Jack Brickman]

For the record, this was the first time I can remember that I went into the second half not expecting the Browns to fall apart. That says a lot about this team, I think.

 

[Mr. Orange]

I love the optimism and the big win. If we can win the next 3, we can start to dream playoffs at 6-2. Let's not look ahead. I don't even remember when we last won 7 games. Was it 2007?

 

[MoFlo]

I love the optimism and the big win. If we can win the next 3, we can start to dream playoffs at 6-2. Let's not look ahead. I don't even remember when we last won 7 games. Was it 2007?

Yes. Hell, that's the last time we won more than 5 games...

 

[Shakalu M.D.]

Anyone else just supremely impressed with Shannahan this year? I expected the run game to improve because I'm a big believer of the effective nature of zone blocking. Not to mention Tate was a perfect fit for the scheme coming from Houston. However I didnt expect nearly the success they've been having pounding the ball.

Hoyer has been outstanding, but they're winning games because they have 3 backs, each with a different skill set, all doing a great job on the ground. That makes Hoyer's job so much easier. Zone blocking clearly works on the running game. Various nobodies have stepped into a Shannahan offense and been huge contributors.

Scheme and play calling have been huge too. They lose their second best OL player and don't miss a beat. That reflects hugely on the coaching staff. I don't know how much Pettine is involved on that side, but I suspect it's purely Shannahan's offense. If the D can play like they did this week, this team can make the postseason.

I'm 25 years old, I honestly think that's the first time I've ever used the phrase "postseason" when referring to the Browns. (Unless I was saying, "It's week 1 and the Browns are mathmatically eliminated from the postseason."

 

[Soar]

Remember last week at halftime when lots of people wanted to fire Pettine?

 

[Soda]

Remember last week at halftime when lots of people wanted to fire Pettine?

It was our "duty" to run him out of town.

 

[shoes22]

Remember last week at halftime when lots of people wanted to fire Pettine?

To be fair...when your team comes out as unprepared and looks as horrifically bad as the first half of the Titans and 1st Steelers game, it's not surprising people would be calling for your job. Because that wasn't just bad...it was abysmal. To Pettine's credit, he got the team completely turned around in the second half of both games.

 

[ssopata]

If this team can make it to at least 6-4, you have Gordon coming back for the last 6 games adding a HUGE threat to this offense, especially if the running game stays as strong as it's been.

 

[Soda]

If this team can make it to at least 6-4, you have Gordon coming back for the last 6 games adding a HUGE threat to this offense, especially if the running game stays as strong as it's been.

These next 3 games are huge (they're all huge, I suppose). If the Browns can put together some kind of run where they win in Jacksonville, then take the 2 at home against the Raiders and Bucs... That's 6-2 and a huge bump going into what will be a big division game in Cincy on a Thursday night game.

 

[shoes22]

It's interesting...thanks to the Browns improved play, the AFC North looks to be the toughest division in football.

 

[AZ_]

To be fair...when your team comes out as unprepared and looks as horrifically bad as the first half of the Titans and 1st Steelers game, it's not surprising people would be calling for your job. Because that wasn't just bad...it was abysmal. To Pettine's credit, he got the team completely turned around in the second half of both games.

Nothing about snap judgements based on one half of football is fair.

Nothing.

 

[Jack Brickman]

To be fair...when your team comes out as unprepared and looks as horrifically bad as the first half of the Titans and 1st Steelers game, it's not surprising people would be calling for your job. Because that wasn't just bad...it was abysmal. To Pettine's credit, he got the team completely turned around in the second half of both games.

Saying anyone should lost their job based on two halves of two different football games is ridiculous. But then, the Browns game threads are generally a case study of the bipolar disorder, so I guess that's be be expected.

I mean, we had someone say that the game was over yesterday when the Browns went down 3-0 in the first quarter.