The Cleveland Browns entered the 2014 season graded towards the bottom of almost all NFL power rankings. After almost pulling off a miracle comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, let's take a look at where they stack up.
I took a look at a few power ranking services and have listed them below, a chart that I'll update weekly follows that, and my quick take after that. Enjoy!
SB Nation: 28
"The Browns, led by Brian Hoyer, mounted an impressive second-half comeback on the Steelers and nearly got themselves an upset win in Week 1. That fell short, but there are a few positives to take away from this game. At the front of my mind is the Browns' rushing output. In Kyle Shanahan's new zone-blocking system in Cleveland, the Browns put up 183 yards on the ground at a 6.1 YPC clip, which gives them a great chance to further develop their play-action passing offense. Look for Cleveland to move up in the rankings soon."
Yahoo! Sports: 29
"How exactly do you evaluate a team that was down 27-3 at the half and outscored their opponent 24-3 after it?"
CBS Sports: 25
"They deserve credit for coming back against Pittsburgh, but what happened to the defense, which was supposed to be a strong point?"
Pro Football Talk: 31
"They forgot to show up for the first half."
Current Wk. | Last Wk. | Up/Down | Best To Date (week) | |
SB Nation | 28 | 28 | - | 28 (1) |
Yahoo! Sports | 29 | 30 | +1 | 29 (2) |
CBS Sports | 25 | 28 | +3 | 25 (2) |
ProFootballTalk | 31 | 30 | -1 | 30 (1) |
The Browns starting off near the bottom is no surprise, and the rankings after one week shouldn't be surprising either. SB Nation's and Yahoo!'s seem about right, the Browns being the best of the truly bad teams (Jacksonville, Oakland, etc). CBS may be a bit optimistic after just one week, and PFT's seems a bit low. I get they didn't show up for a half, but what about the second half performance?
What say you, Browns fans? Which ranking seems the most accurate after Week 1?