26. Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns own the Pittsburgh Steelers when the Steelers come to Cleveland. At least, over the last four or five years, that’s the case. Even with a chance to wrap up the AFC North, the Browns prevented the Steelers from doing much of anything when they came to Pittsburgh on Sunday, even if it wasn’t the prettiest game from the Cleveland offense.
This was like watching a classic Big Ten matchup between Iowa and Wisconsin or something. It was all about defense, and the Browns prevailed when it mattered most. Aaron Rodgers tested Denzel Ward one too many times in coverage, and the Steelers’ comeback bid late in this game fell short.
Shedeur Sanders threw another pair of interceptions in this game, and the Browns are likely headed toward hitting the reset button offensively in the offseason, but that defense is for real. If they could even have a semi-consistent offense…
25. Kansas City Chiefs
Even with “nothing” to play for, the Kansas City Chiefs put forth a rather inspiring effort against the Denver Broncos on Christmas night, especially defensively. The strategy by Steve Spagnuolo to force Bo Nix to dink and dunk down the field ultimately didn’t work well enough, but it kept the Chiefs in the game for the majority of the four quarters.
The Chiefs got outstanding games overall from Nick Bolton and Chris Jones, and third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun capitalized on a Broncos turnover to give the Chiefs a lead in that game.
But the Broncos pulled through, and now the Chiefs are left with a matchup against a hapless Raiders team in Week 18. Everyone is wondering what the future holds for this Chiefs team with Travis Kelce’s future up in the air, a long recovery process ahead for Patrick Mahomes, and a roster with a lot of major issues.