The Browns had their three-game winning streak snapped on Sunday in a 29-12 road loss to the Broncos. But there was more going on in the NFL than the matchup in Denver.
Every week, we’ll go through the biggest storylines and examine potential narratives from around the NFL.
To help us examine these storylines and narratives, we’re following in the footsteps of the 1990s show, “Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction,” which you may know better from the memes of host Jonathan Frakes.
Just like Frakes, we will decide every week whether several of the top storylines from around the league are fact or fiction. Here are this week’s six biggest storylines.
1. Injuries could keep the Browns out of the playoffs
Verdict: Fact.
Injuries have been a story of the Browns season since Week 1 when they lost Jack Conklin to a season-ending knee injury. In the weeks following that injury, they also lost Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury, and then Deshaun Watson suffered two separate shoulder injuries, the latter of which ended his season after Week 10. Left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and safety Rodney McLeod are also on IR, with McLeod being out for the season with a biceps injury.
Things didn’t get better on Sunday in Denver. Rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson suffered a concussion, and the Browns could be forced to turn to Joe Flacco at quarterback next week. Amari Cooper suffered a rib injury in the fourth quarter, although Kevin Stefanski told reporters after the game that X-rays on Cooper’s ribs were negative.
But then Myles Garrett was seen in the locker room with his left shoulder in a sling after the game. His status going forward is uncertain.
For a team that had the most average salary per year on injured reserve according to OverTheCap.com, these are the last things the Browns wanted to have happen.
Still, the Browns are 7-4 in spite of the massive number of injuries they’ve had, particularly on offense.
In the NFL, there is only so much adversity a team can take and keep going forward. The AFC wild card race is starting to get compact and sometimes, it’s a battle of who makes it to the end the most intact. The Browns, through no fault of their own, just keep seeing their best players suffer injuries. A lack of health luck is starting to show the potential to derail a potentially great Browns season at the worst possible time.
