The Cleveland Browns haven’t put forth a winning campaign since going 10-6 way back in 2007. The double digit win campaign still wasn’t good enough to punch a ticket to the playoffs. This defunct franchise hasn’t felt the thrill of playing a postseason game since 2002. Their average win total over the last nine seasons has been 4.2. With that, it comes as no surprise to see their 2017-18 win total hovering in the 4.5 game ballpark. While some pundits believe improvement is set to take place in Cleveland, the Browns still find themselves installed the second largest underdogs to win the AFC ( +12,500 ) in front of only the New York Jets.
AFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Baltimore Ravens +2600
Buffalo Bills +5800
Cincinnati Bengals +3137
Cleveland Browns +12500
Denver Broncos +1496
Houston Texans +1114
Indianapolis Colts +1992
Jacksonville Jaguars +3865
Kansas City Chiefs +1390
Los Angeles Chargers +2576
Miami Dolphins +3412
New England Patriots +146
New York Jets +15000
Oakland Raiders +651
Pittsburgh Steelers +450
Tennessee Titans +2044
Key Players for Winning the AFC
Myles Garrett – With the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns shocked nobody by selecting Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett. He racked up 31 sacks with the Aggies, and the hope is he adds to the rebuild going down along the defensive front with Emmanuel Ogbah and Danny Shelton laying the ground work last season. Unfortunately, that improvement didn’t take shape in the sack department with the Browns defense tallying the second fewest in the league ( 26 ). It remains to be seen if his talent will translate at the NFL level, but this freak of nature has been doing it his whole life and should have no problem excelling. The AFC North is comprised of some pass happy offenses in the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals. Cleveland has the guy to be a factor in liming those attacks. Now he just has to prove it.
Isaiah Crowell – The Browns quarterback position once again looks like a mess. Brock Osweiler doesn’t look like he’s going to make it in the NFL after the Texans coughed up a lot of cash just to rid themselves of his services. Rookie DeShone Kizer has potential, but he’s going to have to go through some growing pains to become a confident quarterback at the NFL level. Crowell finished No. 15 in the league in rushing yards last season with 952. He averaged 4.81 yards per carry, yet only got the call 198 times. The top backs in the league all had at least 250 carries. Head coach Hue Jackson has stated numerous times that he’s going to run the ball more now that he’s calling the shots. One area the Browns look really good in is along the offensive line. Crowell could be in for the biggest year of his career should he remain healthy for a full 16 games.
Corey Coleman – Kenny Britt was brought into Cleveland to be the team’s WR1. While he had a nice season a year ago, it was the first time that he went over the 1,000 yard threshold. He doesn’t have speed to burn and is getting up there in age. Instead, look for second year pass catcher Coleman to have a bigger impact on the offense than he did in his injury riddled rookie campaign. This kid set all kinds of records at Baylor before graduating onto the NFL, and he’ll no doubt become a favorite target of whomever situates themselves under center due to his ability to get open and fight for balls. Should the Crowell led ground game excel like most believe it will, it will create an excellent opportunity for someone to step up and be a factor in the passing game. Why not the franchise’s No. 1 pick from a year ago?
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