General manager of the Cleveland Browns, claims that the team is not content to merely finish
For the 2024 season, what should be the Cleveland Browns’ top priority?
If there is one clear lesson to be learned from the NFL playoffs in 2023, it is this.
Winning the division is important, and the Browns should use it as motivation for everything they do in the summer.
All four of the remaining teams in the race for the Super Bowl were division winners.
It is crucial to secure a home game in the playoffs. The AFC North title, the top seed, and a bye went to the Ravens. Winning at home against the Texans, who are ranked seventh, and hosting the AFC Championship game against the Chiefs with a Super Bowl bid on the line are the first steps towards becoming a Super Bowl champion.
Gaining the top seed entitles you to play home games as long as you maintain your winning streak, and winning the division earns you at least one home game.
The Browns were 8-1 in Cleveland Browns Stadium in 2023, and it was evident that the team—especially the defense—performed significantly better at home than away.
Despite resting their players in the season finale, the Browns finished 11-6 in the regular season. In addition to resting their players in the penultimate game, the Ravens concluded the regular season at 13-4.
Looking back at the season’s outcomes, there were games that may have made up the two losses that separated the Browns and Ravens.
The only club in the AFC to outperform the Browns was the Baltimore Ravens.
The Browns should not settle for just making the playoffs; instead, they should concentrate their whole offseason and season on taking the AFC North.
At the end of the day, Berry said on Monday, “I don’t know that this year is really going to matter or factor into next year. So we’ll attack 2024 with a fresh perspective.”
Berry discussed how this year, when the Lions hosted the Rams in the first round, it was their first home playoff game in thirty years. Berry reported that during the team’s victories over the Rams and Buccaneers, he saw the excitement in the stadium and how the players feed off of their support.
It kind of made me wonder, “What will Cleveland look like, sound like, feel like, when we host a home playoff game?” stated Berry. “How will the energy continue throughout the coming week? How will it sound at the opening kickoff?”
It will be 30 years next year that the Browns have not hosted a postseason game since the 1994 campaign.
Berry stated that the Browns’ Thursday Night Football matchup against the Jets, in which they secured a postseason berth, was the closest scenario to that point. Berry reported that as the Browns punched their ticket to the postseason, the energy in front of a sold-out stadium was electrifying both before and after the game.
Both Berry and Kevin Stefanski summed up the Texans’ Wild Card loss as “we chose a bad day to have a bad day.” Both understand that there is still work to be done despite all of the injuries and hardships the Browns have faced.
“We strive for improvement by evaluating all of our actions, both on and off the pitch,” stated Berry. “And it’s truly not just about progress; it’s about putting the franchise in a position where we can routinely produce deep runs and playoff teams, and where we can host our first home playoff game in 29 years. The ultimate objective is to win the team’s first Super Bowl.
Thus, that objective will guide all future decisions,” stated Berry. And occasionally, that can force you to make difficult choices, but everything will be done with an eye towards progress. We also know that our supporters will find it enjoyable. We owe our supporters this. We owe the city that. We owe it to the organization’s personnel, coaches, and players. In actuality, that is our fiduciary duty.
In order to be competitive when their franchise quarterback returns to the field in 2024, the Browns must first have excellent quarterback play from that position. The franchise quarterback for each of the final four teams is still active.
The Browns are aware that, in the AFC alone, they will face players like Aaron Rodgers, Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, and Tua Tagovailoa.
Both the league and the conference are extremely competitive, correct? stated Berry. The AFC is home to several formidable teams, three of which I believe are in our division. We become aware of how competitive it is as a result, which is one of the main reasons that going ahead, every choice we make needs to be made with the knowledge that we are participating in a zero sum game.
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