:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62352063/usa_today_11396423.0.jpg)
The Cleveland Browns will have six games remaining in the 2018 regular season when they take the field next Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
At 3-6-1, looking to double their win total by the end of the season seems like not only an admirable goal, but also a realistic one.
The Browns still have the two games against the Bengals, and single games against the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans.
The Bengals have been harsh on the Browns in recent years, winning seven in a row and only failing to score 30 points once in that span, but Cincinnati is currently falling apart, so a split of those games should be doable.
Chalk up a win against the Ravens in the season finale, and find one win against the Panthers, Broncos or Texans, and suddenly the Browns have their second-highest win total since 2007.
That would be a respectable way to head into the off-season, but the Browns may be looking for more than just respectable, according to wide receiver Rashard Higgins.
TMZ Sports caught up with the third-year wide receiver during the bye week and Higgins says the Browns have not given up on the idea of making the playoffs this season. He also warned doubters that they should not “sleep on us ... we’re gonna make them believe at the end of the day.”
If you pencil in the Kansas City Chiefs (9-1 heading into today’s games), the Los Angeles Chargers (7-2), New England Patriots (7-3), Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2-1) and the winner of the AFC South (currently the Texans at 6-3), that only leaves one playoff spot for the taking.
There is not a formidable team standing between the Browns and that last playoff spot as the group of four- and five-win teams include the Bengals, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, Ravens and Indianapolis Colts.
The Browns would likely have to run the table for a chance at a playoff spot, however, and even a 9-6-1 record may not be enough to pull off the trick. (Although that record would get the Browns in over a 9-7 team thanks to the season-opening tie.)
So while it might be a long shot, it is refreshing to be at least entertaining the thought of a Browns playoff push in the middle of November.