Cleveland Browns will be in the spotlight the rest of 2020

The Cleveland Browns will make at least two primetime appearances in the final four weeks.

The franchise is in the midst of its first winning season since 2007, when the club finished 10-6 but missed out on the playoffs due to tiebreakers. Since the Cleveland Browns made their return to the NFL in 1999 as an expansion franchise, they’ve been to the playoffs once (2002). And that aforementioned 2007 campaign marks the only time with this franchise that the team has reached double digits in the victory column.

These days, the Browns are 9-3 and in second place in the AFC North. Kevin Stefanski, in his first season as an NFL head coach and the 12th different sideline leader for this franchise since ’99, has the team on a four-game winning streak.

The remainder of the year has the club hosting the Baltimore Ravens this Monday night and heading to MetLife Stadium in Week 15 for a Sunday evening clash with the equally-hot New York Giants. That game was just flexed into primetime earlier this week.

The club is back in East Rutherford the following Sunday to face the Jets before returning home for a rematch with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If things go well for Stefanski and company, they could be playing for a divisional title if their rivals from the Steel City stumble a few times. And could that contest wind up as the NFL’s Sunday night finale if the AFC Crown is on the line?

The Cleveland Browns have won four straight games, the second-longest streak in the AFC behind the Kansas City Chiefs. The offense is led by surging quarterback Baker Mayfield and the NFL’s second-ranked ground attack. Defensive end Myles Garrett spearheads a defense that is learning how to stop the run while the club has totaled 20 takeaways.

Last week’s 41-35 win at Tennessee may wind up being a turning point for an organization starved for a return to the postseason. For the first time in a long time, this is a team that bears watching for all the right reasons.