By STEVE KING

Well, well, well, how about that?

Did the Browns play well against the Detroit Lions on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium?

Well, of course not.

Well said. No one can argue that point. It was as ugly as ugly can be.

But they played well enough to win 13-10, and in the NFL, where the only statistical category that matters is … well, wins and losses, that’s the only thing that counts. It’s especially true for the now 6-5 Browns, who, in coming off a 45-7 beating by the New England Belichicks a week earlier, and facing back-to-back games against the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens, sandwiched around their bye, were in desperate need of a win, whether it was against the winless (0-9-1) Lions or anyone else.

For, you see, they don’t put the phrase, “Beat a bad team,” next to a win over the Lions, thus subtracting the value of the victory by 50 percent, just like they don’t put the phrase, “Beat the defending Super Bowl champions,” next to a triumph over former Belichicks quarterback Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, thus increasing the value of the win by 50 percent.

A win is a win is a win. They all count the same.

Going forward, though, the Browns are going to have to perform much, much better. That’s obvious. There are no more bottom-feeders on the schedule. In addition to the Ravens, the Browns play, in order, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Green Bay Packers on Christmas at Lambeau Field, the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football at Heinz Field and the Cincinnati Bengals.

With six games left, the Browns already have as many losses as they did all last regular season, when they finished 11-5 and made the playoffs, as a wild card, for the first time in 18 years. They have already dropped too many games they should have won, so there’s no room for error.

And, well, that’s the bottom line.