I’m out of town this week, but I managed to find a sports bar to watch the Browns salvage an Alpha-Omega victory — scoring on the first and last drives of the game, with nothing in between to write home about. I could see the stretch marks on the rubber band defense, and I sure was glad the Ravens sent their punter in on fourth-and-two from the Browns’ 35. With under three minutes left and the Browns out of timeouts, one more Jamal Lewis rush might have sent Jeff Blake and the Browns season to their knees.
No matter what happens, I hope we find a way to keep Jamel White on the team next year. He’s faster than William Green and tougher than Dennis Northcutt. Every team needs at least two reliable running backs, so Butch ought to convince Jamel that he will be more than an understudy and third-down threat. There’s no reason White and Green can’t both be on the field for most plays.
Does any team have more convoluted playoff prospects than the Browns? No. Obviously, beating the Falcons at home is essential, right? No. Here are the six main ways — but not the only ways — that Cleveland could win a wild card berth:
1) Win AND Denver win AND N.Y. Jets win
2) Win AND Kansas City loss or tie AND N.Y. Jets win
3) Win AND Denver win AND Miami win or tie
4) Win AND Kansas City loss or tie AND Miami win or tie
5) Tie AND N.Y. Jets loss or tie AND New England loss or tie AND Denver loss or tie AND San Diego loss or tie AND Kansas City loss
6) New England loss AND N.Y. Jets loss AND Baltimore loss or tie AND Denver loss AND San Diego loss AND Kansas City loss
In this anything-can-happen season, don’t rule out the “strength of victory” tiebreaker. This makes most all this weekend’s games potentially relevant to the Browns’ playoffs hopes. On Saturday, root for the Raiders and Giants. On Sunday early games, root for the Browns, Dolphins, Titans, Redskins, Bengals, and Saints. In the late games, root for the Jets and Jaguars. If the Raiders beat K.C. on Saturday, root for Arizona to beat Denver. If K.C. beats the Raiders, root for Denver instead.
One thing’s for sure: weekend chores in the Cleveland area will have to fit in the commercial breaks.
