Cleveland Browns control their playoff destiny after loss to Jets

The Cleveland Browns playoff chances rest in their own hands after losing to the Jets.

Things couldn’t have been less ideal for the Cleveland Browns in Week 16. They entered the matchup against a 1-13 New York Jets team with a 10-4 record of their own and a win would’ve punched their ticket to the playoffs and, with some help, kept them alive in the AFC North race. Instead, 2020 decided to deal another blow in a year that’s been full of them.

On Saturday, the Browns found out that they would be without Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge due to COVID-19 contact tracing. That meant that no wide receiver playing for Cleveland against the Jets had caught a pass from Baker Mayfield this season. Suffice it to say that’s less than ideal.

And so were the results on Sunday. The Browns offense couldn’t get going for the first three quarters of action and, while they attempted a late comeback, three fumbles from Mayfield — playing behind a short-handed offensive line, it should be said — ultimately doomed Cleveland to lose, 23-16.

Dropping to 10-5 on the year, the Browns are now the No. 7 seed in the AFC and have no chance of winning the division. But they also have work to do if they’re going to lock up a playoff spot. With a season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers looming, the task at hand for Cleveland is simple.

It will be win-and-you’re-in for the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.

The simplest way for the Cleveland Browns to make the playoffs is for the franchise to beat the rival Steelers. With a victory, even if the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens win next week to finish in the No. 5 and 6 seeds in the AFC, Kevin Stefanski’s team will win a tiebreaker over the Colts based on head-to-head results and move into the postseason.

So, in essence, the Browns can take care of their own business against the division winner in the AFC North and will make it into the playoffs. And that will be huge for Cleveland to build confidence as well.

Having said that, it doesn’t have to be a Week 17 win over the Steelers for the club to make it into the playoffs. Cleveland can lose and get in but they will need a lot of help for that to happen.

Should the Browns lose to Pittsburgh, they need the Colts to lose to the 1-14 Jaguars or they need the Titans to lose in Weeks 16 and 17 (Packers and Texans) and for the Ravens to beat the Bengals and the Dolphins to beat the Bills.

So even with a snake-bitten Week 16, the Browns are still in line to capitalize on their playoff chances. All it takes is for a team to get back to full strength and win against a division-winner. And if you’re looking for a legitimate wild-card team, that’s the type of test that Cleveland should be ready and willing to pass anyway.