Same start as 2019, but will the Browns’ finish be different?

By STEVE KING

The Browns have been down this road before — very recently, in fact.
They opened this season by losing by about 30 points (32 to be exact, 38-6) to a good team, the Baltimore Ravens, in the opener and then soundly beat a lesser foe, the Cincinnati Bengals, 35-30, in a game that wasn’t really that close in a nationally-televised, prime-time special on Thursday Night Football.

Close to the same start as 2019 with the Browns losing by exactly 30 points, 43-13, to a good team, the Tennessee Titans, and then soundly defeated a lesser foe, the New York Jets, 23-3, in a nationally-televised, prime-time special on Monday Night Football.

Those Browns split their next two games, losing 20-13 to the Los Angeles Rams and then recording their most impressive win of the year, 40-25 at Baltimore. At 2-2 and with much optimism, the Browns went into a tailspin, losing four straight games, two by blowouts and two by a combined total of just nine points, to drop their record to 2-6 and go a long way toward ruining their season.

They recovered by winning three in a row, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to save the season or to save the jobs of General Manager John Dorsey and head coach Freddie Kitchens. They were both fired after a 6-10 finish in a year when the Browns were predicted to do great things.
Which way will these 2020 Browns go?

Just like the 2019 version, the current Browns host an NFC foe, the Washington Football Team, in Week 3 on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium then enter a difficult stretch with a road game at Dallas followed by a visit by the Indianapolis Colts and a trip to Pittsburgh.

Thus, for the second straight year, the Browns go into a pivotal time with much hope. If they stumble — even badly so — then GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski aren’t going to get fired. Browns management — owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam — believe too strongly in them.

Still, this is a great opportunity for Berry, Stefanski, the assistants and the players to show that they are different, better, and thus so, too, will this season be different, better.

It will be interesting to watch how it all turns out.

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