BE HAPPY YOU ROOT FOR BROWNS INSTEAD OF FALCONS

By STEVE KING

Atlanta will probably beat the Browns on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

With as banged up as the Browns are defensively, especially in the secondary, the Falcons, with quarterback Matt Ryan throwing to wide receiver Julio Jones, may well beat them soundly.

But despite all that, be happy – extremely happy, even thrilled – that you’re a Browns fan and not a Falcons fan.

Why?

After a horrible 1-4 start, the Falcons have won three and a row to improve to 4-4 and climb back into the periphery of the race for an NFC wild-card playoff berth.

The Browns, meanwhile, have dropped four in a row to fall to 2-6-1 and are drifting off into the abyss.

Again.

So, then, once more, why is it better that you’re a Browns fan and not a Falcons fan?

Let me explain.

Even with their recent success this year, the Falcons are still on the down swing. Oh, sure, they may make the playoffs several more times with this current group of players. One of those times could be this season, in fact, if they stay hot.

But this game is not about winning three games in October or qualifying for the playoffs and bowing out quickly. Rather, of course, it’s about winning in January and February. It’s about winning the Super Bowl.

But no way is this group of the Falcons going to win the Super Bowl. They should have won a Super Bowl two years ago when they had the New England Patriots down for the count, 28-3, with two minutes left in the third quarter. At that point, it was clear that the stars were all aligned in just the right way for the Falcons to grab the Lombardi Trophy.

But it didn’t happen. In one of the great comebacks in NFL history, postseason and otherwise, the Patriots came back to win 34-28 in overtime.

The Falcons bravely said they were not dissuaded. They said they were going to forget about it, move on and come back the next year and finish the job.

The only thing that’s finished is their window of opportunity.

This type of choke job – let’s call it what it is – hangs with you, like an albatross.

The Browns of the late 1980s found that out all too painfully.

These current Browns are struggling now, for sure, but they’ve got a promising young quarterback in Baker Mayfield, a number of other young core players and a general manager in John Dorsey who really knows what he’s doing. Their best days – and they should be pretty good – are all ahead of them. There is a great deal of hope.

There is little big-picture hope in Atlanta, only remorse.

So be glad of that. In this now-difficult season for the Browns, take heart in little joys like that.