The Cleveland Browns’ victory over the Colts was the first in what could be a big stretch of games for this team in 2011. There is no such thing as an “easy” game in the NFL, but the Browns’ next few games are against opponents who aren’t exactly in the upper echelon of the NFL as it currently stands.
NFL Power Rankings author Joel Thorman feels the next five games are contests the Browns not only can compete, but he believes they are potentially favorites in all five:
24. Cleveland Browns (LW: 28): Dolphins, Titans, Raiders, Seahawks, 49ers? I see those as five straight games they can win. They’ll need to with the Ravens and Steelers in the AFC North.
The Browns showed they could play with some balance on Sunday, getting Peyton Hillis involved in any way they could. Hillis had two touchdowns in their road win over Indianapolis, which wasn’t even really as close as the score may have indicated.
Cleveland needs to take advantage of this stretch of games, especially in the early part of the season. They will need to have a lot of wiggle room when they begin more play inside the division.
This is a team many believed to be on the rise and they showed why that is on Sunday, even if it was against the Colts sans Peyton Manning.
The Browns take on the Miami Dolphins this week looking to improve on their 1-1 record, while Miami is looking to get in the win column for the first time this season.