The Cleveland Browns have the unfortunate honor of calling the AFC North home. This is a division that has always been super competitive and the best example of why it's the best division in the NFL is that all four teams finished the 2023 season with winning records with three of the AFC North squads making it into the playoffs.
When looking at the betting odds for the 2024 season, FanDuel gives the Browns the third-best chance of wearing the AFC North crown this year with the Ravens and Bengals ahead of them. The Steelers are considered a long shot but with their streak of no losing seasons, expect them to be in the mix to the very end.
Even with the Browns not having as good of odds to win the division as the Bengals and Ravens, it's absolutely possible for them to win their first-ever AFC North title. The last time Cleveland won a division title was in 1989 when they were still in the AFC Central.
It won't be easy but let's break down three ways the Browns can win the uber-competitive AFC North for the first time in franchise history.
Deshaun Watson plays like he did before the trade
The Browns swung for the fences in 2022 by trading for Deshaun Watson and in doing so, surrendered multiple first-round picks and gave him a boatload of money without him ever taking a snap in a Browns uniform. So far, the trade has been a disaster but fortunately, the Browns are well-coached now and have been able to overcome Watson's disappointment as a starter.
In Watson's final year with the Texans before he was traded, he led the league in passing yards with 4,823 and had 33 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. He has not been anywhere close to being that quarterback since arriving in Cleveland and look at how good the Browns were last year without him for most of the season.
If Watson can return to being the player he was before he came to Cleveland, this Browns team could truly be not just the biggest threat in the AFC North but one of the biggest threats in the AFC.
Nick Chubb doesn't miss a step when returning from injury
It was devastating to see Nick Chubb go down with what ended up being a season-ending injury just two games into the 2023 season but the Browns ended up doing okay without him. That being said, imagine how much better the offense would have been had Chubb not missed time.
Chubb was coming off a career-best year in 2022, having rushed for over 1,500 yards and finding the end zone 13 total times. Coming back from a knee injury isn't an easy task, especially for a 28-year-old running back but it won't be the first time Chubb has come back from injury. The former Georgia Bulldog suffered another serious knee injury during the 2015 college football season and he didn't miss a beat upon his return, rushing for 1,130 yards and eight touchdowns the following year.
If Chubb can revert back to the guy he was before the latest injury, the Browns will be in business in 2024.
Defense keeps dominating games
In 2024, the Browns defense allowed the fewest passing yards in the entire league and was just outside the top 10 in the fewest rushing yards allowed. In other words, the Browns defense was incredible and rose to the occasion when the offense was struggling with its fifth different starting quarterback.
If the defense can continue to keep its foot on the gas in 2024, the Browns can be a terrifying team to face. We've seen how defense-dominated teams can sneak into the playoffs and make a run to the Super Bowl but what if the other two things I listed end up happening for the Browns as well?
There's the old saying of "defense wins championships" and if the Browns D can play as well as it did a season ago, a division title is certainly in the cards.
