Cleveland Browns: Beat Falcons 26-24, AFC Wild Card Favorite?

With their 26-24 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, it might just be time to call the Cleveland Browns not only AFC Wild Card contenders, but potentially a favorite to make the NFL’s “Winter Classic”.

With the AFC North highly contested, it’s hard to imagine Cleveland will break through and take the division. However, their current 7-4 record looks like it could be enough to set them up nicely heading down the stretch.

On Sunday, the Falcons couldn’t do enough to keep the Browns’ offense off the board, especially at the end. Led by a very impressive performance from running back Isaiah Crowell (see GIF below c/o FansidedGIF on Twitter), their attack was too much for the Falcons to handle.

Brian Hoyer did have three interceptions on the day, but his game-winning drive made it all worth it for Browns fans in the end.

Now sitting right where they want to be, Cleveland has to be considered a favorite in the AFC Wild Card race – even with the competition surrounding the conference. They’ve been faced with a tough schedule and have handled it with impressive performances.

Here’s what they have to look forward to the rest of the way:

at Buffalo Bills

Indianapolis Colts

Cincinnati Bengals

at Carolina Panthers

at Baltimore Ravens

It’ll be a tough task, but finishing with 10-6 might just give Mike Pettine’s team an opportunity to crack the playoffs. The final four games could prove to be too difficult, but if they can pull it off, you could be seeing a Cleveland Browns team in the playoffs … without the help of Johnny Manziel.