The Cleveland Browns have had a miserable start to the 2024 NFL regular season.
A team that entered the season with aspirations of a Super Bowl run is now walking a razor-thin line to even make the playoffs, a goal that only three teams have ever accomplished after starting the year with a 1-5 mark.
With such a small chance of making the playoffs, the Browns front office looks ready to throw in the towel for this season and focus on rebuilding for next year.
Trading Amari Cooper on Tuesday is a move suggesting this organization knows its fate for the 2024 NFL regular season and its chances to make a repeat trip to the playoffs.
Analysts looking at the schedule for the Browns earlier this season noted that Cleveland’s easiest portion of the slate would be the first half, meaning that the remainder of the schedule would be a daunting task for them.
Indeed, it will be.
When PFF updated the 2025 NFL Draft order after Week 6, the Browns are now in the No. 2 position behind only the New England Patriots, but there is a stark difference between these two teams’ schedules.
Cleveland is ranked first in the NFL with the hardest remaining schedule according to PFF.
New England’s remaining strength of schedule is ranked 31st, meaning the Patriots will have a significantly easier road than the Browns.
The NFL notes that the seventh game of a season is “the dividing line” between having a slim chance and none at all to make the postseason.
Ten teams have made the playoffs after starting the year with a 2-5 record since 1990, but none of the 85 teams that began the season with a 1-6 mark have advanced to the postseason.
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