Cleveland Browns fans have plenty to celebrate.
The NFL’s decision to finally recognize AAFC stats and records is no minor thing for a franchise that went through its glory days long before joining the league.
In fact, Mike Brown, the son of legendary Browns coach Paul Brown, believes that one of their teams from the AAFC era is the best team in franchise history.
Talking to Browns insider Tony Grossi, he gushed about the 1948 team that went 14-0 in the regular season and then beat the Buffalo Bills 49-7 to cap an undefeated season and win the AAFC championship:
“That was the best Browns team,” Mike Brown said, “because Marion Motley was closer to his prime. Marion is in the Hall of Fame, but I don’t believe he ever got the credit for how great a player he was because his best years were in the AAFC.”
With the NFL now recognizing the AAFC era, the 1972 Miami Dolphins are no longer the only team to complete a perfect season.
Now, with this decision, the Browns will officially have eight championships instead of four.
That put them right behind the Green Bay Packers (13) and Chicago Bears (9), and ties them with the New York Giants as the third-winningest franchise in pro football history.
That also means that Otto Graham is now tied with Tom Brady with seven titles.
As pointed out by Grossi, it also means that Marion Motley’s yards-per-carry average will go from 5.0 to 5.7, making him the all-time leader in franchise history.
Last but not least, it also means that the legendary Paul Brown will now have 222 wins instead of 52, taking him from No. 21 to No. 7 in the all-time rankings, not to mention that he now has more official titles (7) than the likes of Bill Belichick (6), Curly Lambeau (6), and Vince Lombardi (5).
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