Browns Digest

NFL Analyst Predicts Browns To Do Something They Haven't In 35 Years

The Cleveland Browns kick off their 2024 campaign against the Cowboys on Sept. 8

Spencer German

Dec 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns safety Juan Thornhill (1) hold a sign referencing the NFL playoffs after defeating the New York Jets at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns safety Juan Thornhill (1) hold a sign referencing the NFL playoffs after defeating the New York Jets at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
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It's been 35 years since the Cleveland Browns last won the AFC North. Since then the team both left and came back, more than 35 quarterbacks have started at quarterback and the franchise suffered through and ended an 18-year playoff drought.

According to one NFL analyst 2024 is going to be the year the Browns break end their division title drought. During a Friday appearance on ESPN's Get Up!, host Dan Graziano submitted his prediction that Cleveland will reign supreme in a rugged AFC North this season. The rest of the analysts making predictions on the show picked Baltimore to claim back-to-back division titles.

The AFC North always tends to be a gauntlet of a division because of the physical style of football all four team tend to play. In 2024 the division is expected to be the most competitive division in football, particularly after all four teams finished with winning records last season.

Three AFC North teams, including the Browns wound up earning a spot in the playoffs last year. Baltimore came out on top with a 13-4 record, followed by Cleveland, which earned a wild card berth at 11-6. Pittsburgh was the third team to make the postseason at 10-7, sneaking in as the third wild card team in the AFC. Only Cincinnati was left out finishing with 9-8 record after losing star QB Joe Burrow to a wrist injury.

There is a lot of pressure on the Browns this year and particularly starting quarterback Deshaun Watson to make a deep playoff run after getting just a taste of the playoffs in 2024. Winning the division for the first time in over three decades would certainly help that cause, but it will be easier said than done.

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Spencer German

SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

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