CLEVELAND — Following their 41-35 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, the question now appears to be not whether or not the Cleveland Browns will make the 2020 NFL Playoffs, but rather, who will they play?
According to advanced analytics website Five Thirty Eight, the Browns now possess a 92 percent chance of making the playoffs this season. That marks a 14 percent increase from the week prior, following Cleveland's win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With just four weeks remaining in the regular season, the playoff picture is beginning to come into focus. With that in mind, let's take a look at where the Browns stand in their quest to make the postseason for the first time since 2002.
AFC North
AFC North Standings
- Pittsburgh Steelers 11-0*
- Cleveland Browns 9-3
- Baltimore Ravens 6-5*
- Cincinnati Bengals 2-9-1
*denotes Week 13 game still remains.
While the Steelers and Ravens still have to play this week, the Browns will enter Week 14 trailing Pittsburgh by at least two games. Although Cleveland and Pittsburgh still have a Week 17 contest remaining, the likelihood of the Browns catching the Steelers remains slim, with Five Thirty Eight only giving Cleveland a 1 percent chance of winning the AFC North.
Perhaps more interesting is the fact that Baltimore is currently fighting for its postseason life. Six days after facing the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday night, the Ravens will face the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on Monday Night Football in a game that could have a significant impact on their -- and Cleveland's place in the playoff standings.
AFC Wild Card
Just three weeks ago, the Browns stood at ninth place in the AFC standings -- one spot behind the conference's three Wild Card spots. But as of Monday, Cleveland hasn't just reentered the playoff picture -- it's now in pole position for the top Wild Card spot, which would prove advantageous in terms of playoff seeding.
Through 13 weeks, here's how the AFC Playoff picture looks:
Division Winners
- Pittsburgh Steelers (11-0)*
- Kansas City Chiefs (11-1)
- Buffalo Bills (8-3)*
- Tennessee Titans (8-4)*
Wild Card
- Cleveland Browns (9-3)
- Miami Dolphins (8-4)
- Indianapolis Colts (8-4)
- Las Vegas Raiders (7-5)
- Baltimore Ravens (6-5)
- New England Patriots (6-6)
While it doesn't appear the Browns will be able to officially clinch a playoff bid until Week 15, a win over the Ravens next Monday would virtually guarantee that Cleveland will break the longest active postseason drought in the NFL (17 years).
As far as the Browns' seeding, they remain one game ahead of both the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts -- the latter of which they hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders hold a head-to-head tiebreaker against Cleveland, but remain a full two games behind the Browns in the Wild Card standings.
It's worth noting that Cleveland Las Vegas lay claim to virtually the same difficulty of schedule remaining, based opponent's winning percentage. Meanwhile, the Ravens currently possess the easiest remaining schedule in the league, with games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals still ahead.
What's ahead?
Here are the games left on the Browns' 2020 schedule:
- Dec. 14 vs. Baltimore Ravens (Monday Night Football)
- Dec. 20 at New York Giants
- Dec. 27 at New York Jets
- Jan. 3 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
While a win over the Ravens would virtually clinch a spot in the playoffs for the Browns, back-to-back games against the 5-7 Giants and the 0-12 Jets will provide Cleveland a chance to clinch its postseason bid before its Week 17 home game against the Steelers. That's not even factoring in all of the help the Browns could receive from outcomes in games they're not even playing in. In other words, for Cleveland to squander its playoff chances, it would take a lot to go wrong -- and then some.