5 reasons the Browns can win the Super Bowl
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Flexing defensive muscle. Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images
Anyone who has seen "The Shawshank Redemption" remembers the quote, "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things."
- Just don't tell Browns fans that.
State of play: Though the Browns, who play the Texans on Saturday, aren't favored to make Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, don't count Cleveland out.
- The Browns have these things on their side when it comes to being Super Bowl contenders:
🪄 Flacco magic
The intrigue: Browns quarterback Joe Flacco is one of just two starting quarterbacks in the AFC playoffs who have won a Super Bowl. The other is Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes.
- Flacco is 10-5 in the playoffs during his career, including 5-0 in the wild card round.
🛑 Defense and rushing
The intrigue: If you can run the ball and play good defense, you can win in the postseason. It's how Flacco's Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2012.
- The Browns can run — 119 yards per game this season — and were No. 1 in the NFL in total defense.
✌️First-round rematch
The intrigue: The Browns have already beaten the Texans.
- Houston's sensational rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud didn't play in the Dec. 24 game, but Flacco tore up the Texans' defense with 368 yards passing and three touchdowns.
🙌 Beating the AFC's best
The intrigue: The No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens are favored to come out of the AFC.
- This season, the Ravens lost just two home games that likely MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson started. One was to the Browns in Week 10.
😎 Beating the NFC's best
The intrigue: The No. 1 seed San Francisco 49ers are favored to make the Super Bowl out of the NFC.
- Guess who beat the 49ers in Week 6? The Browns held San Francisco's offense to just 17 points.
The bottom line: Most people aren't picking the Browns to make it to the Super Bowl, much less win it.
- 😉 But you must have hope.