Week 17 NFL Power Rankings: The Broncos Are Starting To Slide

Peyton Manning

18. Cleveland Browns (LW: 18)

Once in a dogfight for the most hotly contested division in football, the 7-4 Browns have now lost four consecutive games and fallen back under .500 for the first time since Week 3. Cleveland had made huge strides this season, and was on the verge of turning around its persona as a ‘perennial loser,’ but the Browns proved they may have been playing over their heads all along. Worse, Cleveland had committed to letting quarterback Johnny Manziel play out the team’s remaining games as a type of audition for next year, until he left the team’s Week 16 matchup in Carolina with a hamstring injury. Now at 7-8, the only thing the Browns have to play for is the prospect of its first non-losing season since 2007.

author avatar
Mario Mergola
Mario Mergola is a writer, avid sports fan, former ESPN Radio producer, husband, and father who specializes in finding the hidden gems of the less-explored option. Follow @MarioMergola