The Vicious Cycle of Drafting Quarterbacks
The mock drafts available at ESPN.com — Mel Kiper’s and Todd McShay’s, for example — suggest that the Cleveland Browns will probably select a quarterback with the fourth pick in this year’s NFL draft....
View ArticleWhen Should You Draft a Quarterback in the First Round?
In “No Team Can Beat the Draft,” my colleague Neil Paine argued that the player-evaluation market in the NFL appears to be pretty efficient. No team or general manager has shown an ability to...
View ArticleGod Doesn’t Hate Cleveland
The Browns’ trade to use the 22nd pick in the 2014 NFL draft on former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel12 was the latest in a long line of Cleveland sports decisions that made some outsiders...
View ArticleWorry About Johnny Manziel’s Weight, Not His Height
“If you’re 6-5, 230, run a certain time, there’s like 35 guys I can compare you to that have been successful in this league. If you’re 5-11, there’s two, unless you go back to Fran Tarkenton: Doug...
View ArticlePreseason Football Isn’t Totally Meaningless (If Your Team Has A New QB)
It’s NFL preseason time! Everyone … go about your business as before.Studies have shown that, at least in recent decades, the NFL preseason tells us basically nothing about the upcoming regular season....
View ArticleStop Paying Attention To Johnny Manziel (And All Preseason QB Battles)
During this NFL preseason, the media spotlight has shined brightest on the quarterback competition in Cleveland between incumbent Brian Hoyer and rookie Johnny Manziel. Although Browns coach Mike...
View Article2014 NFL Preview: The AFC North Is Up For Grabs
FiveThirtyEight is running a series of eight NFL previews, one division at a time, to highlight the numbers that may influence each team’s season. America’s favorite weekly soap opera is about to...
View ArticleHow Unexpected Was Cleveland’s Shellacking Of Cincinnati?
Before Thursday night’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, our Elo ratings predicted a 77 percent probability of a Bengals win. Cincinnati had the higher Elo rating before the...
View ArticleNFL Week 14 Elo Ratings And Playoff Odds
On Sunday, the Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots, who had entered Week 13 ranked first in FiveThirtyEight’s NFL Elo ratings. They got there by defeating the previous No. 1, the Denver...
View Article2015 NFL Preview: The Ravens, Bengals, Steelers And, Yes, Even The Browns...
In preparation for the 2015 NFL season, FiveThirtyEight is running a series of eight division previews, each highlighting the numbers that may influence a team’s performance (including projections and...
View ArticleThe Browns Have A Tight End Who’s Defying Time
Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge is 30 years old. Most would call him a young man — a millennial, even! He was 4 when the Berlin Wall came down, one of his favorite actors is Jonah Hill, and...
View ArticleAnyone Could Win The AFC North — Except The Browns
To go with our 2016 NFL predictions, FiveThirtyEight is previewing each division.AFC North fans are blessed with one of the NFL’s most exciting divisions. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and...
View ArticleWhat Does An 0-7 Start Tell You About An NFL Coach?
If good things are supposed to come in threes, nobody told the Cleveland Browns. This year, the Cavaliers won the NBA championship in remarkable fashion, and the Indians are currently playing in the...
View ArticleWill The Browns Ever Win A Game?
This has been a pretty great year for Cleveland sports, particularly if you consider how miserable things had been over the previous five decades or so. In June, the Cavs staged an incredible comeback...
View ArticleThe Browns Can’t Beat Anyone. Not Even The Spread.
The Dallas Cowboys’ dream season continued Thursday night with their win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Cowboys have now won 11 consecutive regular-season games, equaling the franchise record that was...
View ArticleAre The Browns Really Going To Go 0-16? (Update: No.)
(UPDATE: The article below was written before the Browns beat San Diego on Saturday, Dec. 14. The team now has a record of 1-14.)A few weeks ago, when Cleveland was merely 0-11, we gave them a 32...
View ArticleWhy Are The Browns Hoarding Draft Picks?
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | ESPN App | Download | RSS | New to podcasts? Welcome to the latest episode of Hot Takedown, FiveThirtyEight’s sports podcast. On this week’s show (Apr. 25, 2017), we...
View ArticleThe Browns Need A Great QB, Which Is Why They Didn’t Draft One
The Cleveland Browns entered the 2017 NFL draft with a haul of draft picks and a dire need for a quarterback. Yet, despite rumors swirling for days that the Browns might use their No. 1 overall pick to...
View ArticleWill The Browns And Niners Turn It Around? (Next Year, That Is)
We’re at the unofficial halfway point of the season, and with the possible exception of the Philadelphia Eagles, no team’s season has been without turbulence. The defense of the reigning Super Bowl...
View ArticleGood News, Browns: Your Chances Of Making The Playoffs Are 1 In 19 Quintillion
For a brief moment there on Sunday, the Cleveland Browns’ 2017 season appeared to be lost. The team was defeated by the Jacksonville Jaguars, moving its record to 0-10. Considering that no team has...
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