Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 17.
FOX Sports - No. 31 (up one from last week)
The Browns won a game! But they’re still in the bottom-two, considering just how bad they really are. But hey, there’s always 2017 when they’re likely to have two top-10 picks in the draft.
SB Nation - No. 30 (up two from last week)
Finally, the teams that got clowned as trash all season got a weekend of revenge, even if it didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Both the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers snapped huge losing streaks with dramatic victories — and the best part is that because both won, neither is any worse off in the hunt for a top 2017 NFL draft selection.
NFL.com - No. 32 (even from last week)
Yes! Yes! Yes! #%$# The Fumble. Red Right 88 can stick it, too. These 2016 Browns finally won a game, and damn it feels nice to type it. While we're at it, those Cleveland fans who wanted the Chargers to prevail so that the Browns would obtain the first overall pick didn't need to commit such a sports sin. The 49ers' win late Saturday means the Moneyballers are in the driver's seat for the No. 1 selection. As an aside, the year I went to the most Cowboys games as a kid was 1989. Dallas was terrible that season, finishing 1-15. I never rooted against them. Just saying. Congratulations, Brownies.
Bleacher Report - No. 32 (even from last week)
It’s impossible for me to play the Grinch here.
Cleveland’s magical drought-breaker felt like a warm cup of cocoa. This roster—the most talent-poor one the NFL has seen in some time—found a way to win in Week 16.
It did so by going back to basics: running the football and winning the turnover battle. That recipe will serve Hue Jackson well in year two of his rebuild.
Yahoo Sports - No. 32 (even from last week)
Good for the Browns. Nobody will remember them a few years from now. Had they gone 0-16, they’d be talked about 40 years from now. Ask the 1976 Buccaneers.
ESPN - No. 32 (even from last week)
How about this? The Browns win their first game of the season and avoid becoming the second team to go 0-16. However, the 49ers and Jaguars win, too! The Browns' FPI chances for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft improved from 85 percent to 94 percent following Week 16.
Associated Press - No. 32 (even from last week)
Listed below is a summary table of where teams in the AFC North are ranked this week.
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| Bengals | Browns | Ravens | Steelers | |
| Fox Sports | 23 | 31 | 14 | 4 |
| SB Nation | 24 | 30 | 11 | 5 |
| NFL.com | 25 | 32 | 13 | 3 |
| Bleacher Report | 23 | 32 | 14 | 4 |
| Yahoo Sports | 25 | 32 | 11 | 5 |
| ESPN | 21 | 32 | 12 | 5 |
| Associated Press | 25 | 32 | 12 | 6 |
| Average | 23.7 (down 2.0) | 31.6 (up 0.4) | 12.4 (down 0.1) | 4.6 (up 2.0) |