Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 2.
Robert Griffin III is going to be out for at least eight games, giving way to Josh McCown. RG3 didn’t play particularly well in Week 1, so it’s not a crushing blow, but the Browns will struggle to win more than four games this season. They looked horrendous against the Eagles and made rookie Carson Wentz look like a five-year veteran. It’s going to be a long season in Cleveland.
I’m just not sure there’s a worse team in the NFL now than the Browns. RG3 at least gave them some hope for making their offense exciting. Too bad Griffin didn’t break his old habits after all. Cleveland is McCown Town again.
So ... Terrelle Pryor's catch was sweet. But not much to get excited about from the Brownies on Sunday. The botched snap early in the third that resulted in a safety sent everything Cleveland in a downward spiral. Now RGIII is on IR. Still, the guess here is that the Browns will give the Ravens all they can handle at home this weekend. Who could forget this matchup last year?
There's no sugarcoating this one.
The Browns were clowned by the quarterback they once dismissed as a middle-of-the-pack prospect. It looked even worse with the inconsistent play from their own passer, Robert Griffin III.
I was expecting more from Cleveland. I thought their offensive line might handle Fletcher Cox and Co. a little better than it did. And I thought that defense, coordinated by Ray Horton, could've rattled Carson Wentz a little more. Only rookie Carl Nassib stood out to me.
Not the best start to the Hue Jackson era.
Going from Robert Griffin III to Josh McCown isn’t a bad thing, necessarily — there’s a good argument that McCown is better right now — but the Browns showed nothing in the opener that provided any optimism for the next 15 games.
In a week defined by close games and monster comebacks, the Browns took a 19-point beating from a team with a rookie quarterback. The Browns now have a 38 percent chance of getting the first pick in 2017 according to NFL FPI, by far the highest in the league.
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 | 5 | 31 | 17 | 4 |
| SB Nation | 4 | 32 | 13 | 6 |
| NFL.com | 8 | 32 | 16 | 4 |
| Bleacher Report | 7 | 32 | 18 | 4 |
| Yahoo Sports | 7 | 32 | 16 | 3 |
| ESPN | 9 | 32 | 13 | 4 |
| Associated Press | 6 | 32 | 13 | 3 |
| Average | 6.6 (up 0.7) | 31.9 (down 0.3) | 15.1 (up 1.3) | 4.0 (up 2.0) |