A much different situation for the Browns a year later

By STEVE KING

It was a year ago Monday that the Browns lost 22-17 to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC divisional playoffs.

The Browns, of course, had a chance to go ahead twice in the fourth quarter but failed to do so.

Indeed, especially with quarterback Patrick Mahomes forced out with an injury, this was a game the Browns could have easily won, and really should have won.

It was oh, so apparent then that it was a missed opportunity, and it’s even more so now.

Just think if the Browns would have won, pulling off a huge upset. They would have gone to Buffalo and played the Bills in the AFC Championship Game, giving them their first berth in the contest in 31 years. How would that have turned out? Who knows, but it would have been so thrilling to watch.

A year later, the Bills might just be on their way to the AFC title game again, and possibly a step further, after having blasted the New England Patriots 47-17 in the wild-card round on Saturday night.

So while the Bills have built upon the 2020 season, the Browns, of course, did not. They went backyard — way backward, in fact — in going from 11-5 and a playoff victory in Pittsburgh, where success has been so hard to come by over the years, to 8-9 and missing the playoffs altogether.

So, then, the Browns have a lot of work to do in the offseason, both in terms of improving themselves and also in terms of catching up again to the top teams in the AFC.

The Browns should begin each day this offseason thinking about that. Yes, part of the slide was due to injuries, but the other part was due to the Browns themselves.

Hopefully, a year from now, things will be drastically different for the Browns than they are today — only this time in a positive way.

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