MERRY CHRISTMAS, BROWNS FANS, YOU DESERVE IT

By STEVE KING

After waiting 18 years, Santa Claus has left the best Christmas present of all under the tree for Browns fans.

It is a contending, exciting and fun team, one that may well earn the franchise’s first postseason berth since 2002.

It is the audacity of hope, as former Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano likes to call it.

It is the possibility of playoff football, perhaps even at FirstEnergy Stadium, for the first time since the Browns had a head coach named Butch Davis and two quarterbacks named Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb.

It is being a “have” instead of a have-not.

It is being the feel-good story of the NFL this season instead of a punch line and a punching bag.

It is perhaps getting to watch this young, talented team play in the spotlight after New Year’s Day instead of in the lowlights following the regular season.

It is seeing the laid-back Kevin Stefanski, the hands-down NFL Coach of the Year, holding a play sheet on the sideline orchestrating this magical season.

It is seeing Baker Mayfield, maybe that long-sought-after Browns franchise quarterback, prove all of his doubters wrong.

It is seeing the best backfield tandem in the league, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, conjuring up memories of Mack and Byner, the two Pruitts, Kelly and Green and Brown and Green.

It is seeing a warrior of a wide receiver in Jarvis Landry.

It is seeing perhaps the best offensive line in the NFL, and the best line coach in Bill Callahan.

It is seeing possibly the team’s best defensive end since Len Ford.

It is seeing a great young cornerback who grew up a short ride away from FirstEnergy Stadium in Denzel Ward.

It is seeing a defense that plays with more grit than just about any defense in recent memory.

And it is seeing a fanbase so wrapped up in the Browns that it can’t think about anything else.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all.