When the 2015 regular-season schedule came out, Browns fans gasped.
It was a real meat-grinder from Nov. 1 on, and the very last part of it was especially difficult.
That hasn’t changed. In fact, the end of the season is even tougher than it originally looked.
The Browns already knew they had their hands full in going to Seattle on Sunday and facing the two-time defending NFC champion Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl following the 2013 season and just missed repeating last year. And did we mention how CenturyLink Field is the toughest stadium in the NFL for opposing teams?
Two weeks later, on Jan. 3, the Browns close their season by hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s always a challenge.
In between those two games, on Dec. 27, the Browns face the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium, another death trap for the opposition. With the fact the Chiefs didn’t make the playoffs last year, that game didn’t look as hard as the other two when the schedule first came out. But now it does.
That’s because the Chiefs, as well as the Seahawks and Steelers, have, after rough starts, really gotten it together. They are all 8-5 and playing some of the best football in the league as they battle for playoff spots.
So, way back when, if the Browns had any hope of making the playoffs, they knew they needed to really brace themselves for that stretch run.
Fast forward to today, and we all know that those postseason dreams ended long ago for the Browns, who, at 3-10 and only last Sunday having ended their seven-game losing streak, are tied for having the worst record in the NFL.
In terms of that, then, there is really nothing for the Browns to play for as they finish the year.
But there is still something else for which to play – very much so, actually. It comes with the fact that facing this kind of competition back-to-back-to-back, will provide a much better gauge for what quarterback Johnny Manziel can do as he tries to prove to the Browns – and other teams who may become interested in his services should he become available at some point – that he can be a consistently productive NFL quarterback.
A franchise quarterback? That test comes later. First Manziel must show he can be productive by stringing good performances together.
He is coming off a good one on Sunday when he completed 21 of 31 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown, with an interception, in a 24-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers. What didn’t show up on the stat sheet is the way his quick feet and elusiveness allowed him to avoid the rush and buy time to look for receivers. In fact, he was outstanding in that regard.
And he’ll need to continue to be outstanding in that manner, for the Seahawks, Chiefs and Steelers will bring the house at him.
It doesn’t get much tougher than that, but Manziel’s competiveness and desire to impress indicate he’ll be ready – or at least that he should be ready.
And there’s something else that’s good about this end-of-the-season schedule for the Browns. While all 16 games on a team’s slate count equal in the standings, some are worth more than others. Indeed, some count more in the standings than just one game for what they add to, or take away from, a team. A win over a great opponent can give a club confidence and carry it for a time, while an upset loss can knock a club backward for the way it shakes its mindset.
And in the same manner, games can count more than one when it comes to evaluating players. Manziel played well against two struggling teams in the 49ers (4-9) and Tennessee Titans (3-10) early in the year. That works in his favor, for if he had performed poorly against those teams, it would have raised doubts about his ability.
But Seattle, Kansas City and Pittsburgh are hardly San Francisco and Tennessee. So for each one of these games down the stretch in which Manziel plays well, it counts two and maybe even three times on his resume.
Struggling these last three weeks doesn’t knock him out of consideration for the Browns’ job from a long-term perspective because those teams are so good, so hot and have so much to play for. And also there’s the fact that the Browns, who already came into the season with a lot of question marks, are working with a roster that continues to get depleted with injuries. Canton GlenOak High School and Ohio State product Brian Hartline, a wide receiver who had become the go-to target in the Cleveland passing game, was lost for the season with a broken collarbone suffered against the 49ers.
However, doing well in these last three games would do wonders for the way Manziel is perceived heading into the offseason, almost certainly by new Browns coaching and personnel staffs in 2016.
But Johnny being Johnny, perhaps Manziel’s biggest challenge is to excel off the field with his behavior and his dedication in game preparation.
We’ll see how much Manziel wants it. He wanted it a lot against the 49ers, coming into the game with a chip on his shoulder after being glued to the bench for the previous two contests because of behavioral misdeeds. He needs to keep that chip on his shoulder.
