Browns have been here before…26 years ago

By STEVE KING

Where were you at in 1994?

Had you even been born yet?

Were you old enough to know what was going on?

Did you still have all your hair? And was it all dark, with nary a gray thread?

Whatever you were doing, wherever you were doing it, and with whom, 26 years ago, that’s the last time the Browns were 4-1. It’s also the last time they had won four games in a row.

Now, for the first time since head coach Bill Belichick was finally starting to fulfill his potential by guiding the 1994 Browns to a 4-1 record – and their fourth straight win — with a 27-7 home decision over the New York Jets on Oct. 2 (following a 21-14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts the week before), the team is there again, at 4-1 and with a four-game winning streak, after beating the Colts 32-23 on Sunday late afternoon/evening at FirstEnergy Stadium.

#BROWNS WIN!#INDvsCLE pic.twitter.com/qlcZx4wAwV

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 11, 2020

The 1994 Browns won two more games in a row – over the Houston Oilers and Cincinnati Bengals – to go to 6-1 and extend their winning streak to six on their way to finishing 11-5 and earning an AFC wild-card berth to make the postseason for the first time in five years.

Now, can these Browns, who haven’t been to the postseason in 18 years, since 2002, also end an even longer dry spell by making the  …. uh, whoa, hold your horses there, people! We know y’all are really excited – we get it – but you have to pump the breaks a little, or a lot. You need to enjoy the moment and worry about what’s down the road when what’s down the road comes.

But, since you’ve peeked into the future, let’s do just a little of the same.

The Browns face the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday at Heinz Field. No matter who the Browns play, or where, this is always the most difficult game on their schedule every season. As we’ve said here before, the Browns can’t arrive as a postseason contender – and Baker Mayfield can’t be considered a candidate to be their long-sought after franchise quarterback – until they win/he wins at Pittsburgh.