As bad as they were as Christmas came early to New Jersey last night, the all-red and all-green uniforms weren’t the worst part of Thursday Night Football.
 
It was the quality of the two teams playing.
 
Yes, visiting Buffalo beat the Jets 22-17, but it wasn’t as much the Bills playing well as it was the fact they weren’t quite as bad as New York, especially offensively, which is all that matters now in the points-a-minute NFL.
 
The quarterbacks were Tyrod Taylor for the Bills and Ryan Fitzpatrick for the Jets, which, given that quarterbacks are the be-all and end-all in this league, should have tipped everyone off that it wasn’t going to exactly be an epic offensive display. In fact, had it not been for Bills running back LeSean McCoy, who rushed for 112 yards in 19 carries, the game would have been even more unwatchable than it already was.
 
Because it involved a New York team, though, the game was deemed to be an instant classic as soon as it was over.
 
Yeah.
 
A classic what?
 
But here’s what Browns fans can take out of the game: As bad as the game was, and as bad as the Bills and Jets looked, the fact of the matter is that they are both tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the two wild-card berths.
 
The Steelers, who host the Browns on Sunday, are the real deal and, as pointed out yesterday, would have a lot better record if they hadn’t sustained so many devastating injuries. But the fact the Jets and Bills are right there, too, indicates just how little it takes to be a playoff contender in the AFC.
 
There are three heavyweights in the conference in the New England Patriots (8-0), Cincinnati Bengals (8-0) and Denver Broncos (7-1). At the next level are a healthy Pittsburgh team and the Oakland Raiders (4-4), who are coming on strong.
 
After that, though, it’s free for all, with everybody trying to get into the mix.
 
So the Browns, while they still have a long, long way to go to be a serious contender, could get into the mix of hopefuls if they could just get competent quarterback play consistently.
 
That’s the good news.
 
The bad news is that the Browns have looked unsuccessfully for their franchise quarterback since they came back in 1999. So expecting them to find their guy anytime soon is like expecting to win the lottery.