The Cleveland Browns’ season went from bad to worse when starting quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
It looked like that was truly the nail in the coffin in what was initially hoped would be another run to the playoffs for them.
But this past Sunday, Jameis Winston, Watson’s replacement, had a clutch performance, going 27 of 41 for 334 yards and three passing touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman in the fourth quarter.
The Browns are 2-6, and their chances of making the playoffs are very slim, but analyst Tony Rizzo urged fans to “ride the ride” as far as they can go in a post on X (formerly Twitter), per ESPN Cleveland.
Cleveland fans are hoping for a repeat of what happened last season, when the team made the playoffs with an 11-6 record even after Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
This time around, only one AFC team — the Tennessee Titans — has a worse record than Cleveland, and Cleveland traded away star wide receiver Amari Cooper, leaving them without a bona fide threat at that position.
Cleveland will have to rely on defense in order to stack together wins from here on out.
Unfortunately, they have some difficult games coming up against the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, as well as two against the 6-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.