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Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens let it be known during his introductory news conference that the franchise is ready to move beyond being happy with a seven-win season.
Running back Nick Chubb echoed that thought last week when TMZ Sports caught up with him, with Chubb putting the rest of the AFC on notice by emphatically saying that the Browns will make the playoffs in 2019.
That may seem like a bold claim for a franchise that is just one year removed from the worst two-year run in NFL history, but it is not as far-fetched as it may appear at first blush.
Looking at the teams that made the playoffs in the AFC this season, it is not hard to make a case that the Browns only need to fear the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots.
The Los Angeles Chargers are going to be a year older, and no one is really scared of the teams in the AFC South Division.
Within the AFC North, the Browns handily swept the Cincinnati Bengals and were just a few yards short of doing the same to the Baltimore Ravens. As for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they are self-imploding and their better days are slowly falling behind them.
So with another solid offseason, and a full year of Kitchens and quarterback Baker Mayfield working together on offense, there is no reason that anyone should classify Chubb’s statement as anything but stating the inevitable.