Browns key to playoff success starts with something familiar
Though unconventional, the Cleveland Browns punched their ticket to the NFL playoffs in Week 17. With relatively little to play for in Week 18, the Browns turn attention to finding success in the postseason. The last time Cleveland was in the NFL playoffs was the 2020 season, with limited crowds and, frankly, no playoff-like atmosphere. […]
Though unconventional, the Cleveland Browns punched their ticket to the NFL playoffs in Week 17.
With relatively little to play for in Week 18, the Browns turn attention to finding success in the postseason.
The last time Cleveland was in the NFL playoffs was the 2020 season, with limited crowds and, frankly, no playoff-like atmosphere. The Browns, then, made it to the Divisional round after dispatching the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wild Card weekend. For the 2023 season, the Browns' postseason success rids on two factors: Joe Flacco and the defense.
What Joe Flacco must do
Flacco's rise is as improbable as it seems. He went from watching cartoons on his couch to helping assure Cleveland didn't suffer through another wasted season with bad luck and ill-timed injuries.
Since becoming the Browns' full-time starter, all Flacco has done is throw for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns.
But most importantly, he has led the Browns to a 4-1 record in games that mattered.
His willingness to push the ball downfield and take chances where previous Browns quarterbacks were unwilling will make all the difference in a playoff game decided by, at most, a handful of possessions.
Flacco isn't an old-school gunslinger. But he is as close as the Browns are going to get. The hot streak can't end now, or any hope of winning a playoff game goes out the window.
"It’s a special group of football players in there, and I think they’ve been holding their heads up high the whole time," Flacco said of the Browns season. "So, it’s really been nothing but that.”
The Browns defense matters
Though Flacco may have stolen the story, Cleveland is still a team predicated on defense.
That defense will matter tenfold in the playoffs.
Much of the defense goes as Myles Garrett goes. Cleveland will need a performance from him that rivals the best of his career.
That doesn't necessarily mean gaudy sack totals.
The Browns' defense is best when Garrett's gravity is pulling away attention, opening up space for other players to make plays. That is what Cleveland needs most.
Still, sacks are a nice factor in Garrett's game. He ranks sixth in the NFL in them heading into Week 18. If the Browns are to find success in the postseason, it'll come from Garrett and his all-imposing defense.
