The Browns play Monday night against one of their arch enemies, the Denver Broncos in a place that’s been a house of horrors, Mile High Stadium (Empower Field). It’s one of the hardest places to win in the NFL and hasn’t been kind to us over many years. We seem to play them so often, the Broncos almost seem like a divisional game. Monday night, we’ve got our work cut out for us, the Broncos have a lifetime 68% winning percentage in home games over 64 years.
Losing to them in three AFC Championship games in four years is as close as we have ever gotten to the Superbowl. These teams over their respective history’s have been polar opposites. The Browns are an old NFL team, the Broncos are an original AFL team. The Browns with an incredible history long before Denver was around, and the Broncos having great success in the merger era. We have never been to a Superbowl, they’ve been to eight, winning three. We have many Hall Of Famers from a different era, they have been putting them in by the ton the last decade or so. Also in the last 25 years, we have done almost no winning, and they have done a whole lot of it. Plus a few years ago, they hired a Superbowl winning head coach and we hired an up and coming offensive coordinator to lead the Browns. These two teams just do things differently.
But today, these two teams do have one thing in common that will determine the direction of each franchise. Both teams signed a veteran QB for gigantic money in 2022 after both had been with their original NFL teams for years. Russell Wilson had been to a couple of Superbowls, winning one, while making a case for the Hall Of Fame and seemed to be a great signing for Denver. We signed Deshaun Watson who blew a 24 point lead in a playoff game to lose by 20 (51-31) to the Chiefs. Then he racked up huge passing numbers in 2020 with a 4-12 team. He sat out the 2021 season for horrible off the field problems. Those are just the facts.
Wilson in Denver was terrible for whatever reason at first, as he was not the same player at all in 2022. In 2023 they were better, but still not great. Although Wilson found a way to beat us last year 29-12. Watson has been terrible when healthy here, and when not suspended or injured he’s been unavailable. Both are huge hits against their salary caps still, even though Wilson is now guiding Pittsburgh on a playoff run. Watson is recovering from a blown out Achilles somewhere else.
Denver did something that was unexpected. They got rid of Wilson to Pittsburgh for about nothing and are even paying 40 million of his salary to NOT play for them. Wilson, for whatever reason didn’t work there. Denver knew it, and moved on drafting the most experienced college QB maybe ever, Bo Nix who started about 70 college games for two huge football powers. And today he’s playing great, and they are on a playoff push of their own. The recent football story of these veteran QB’s is similar, so do think the Browns have the kind of guts or savvy to do the same and shed Watson?
I’m not so sure they do. Yes Watson’s cap number is higher, like 72 million a year, but sometimes you gotta eat it and do what’s hard. The Browns may worry that by doing so, Watson could go elsewhere and be great, like Wilson or heck even Baker. That’s not the issue, the issue is what puts the Browns on a better path going forward. That’s all that matters right now. That decision is now the most important they will make in a good long while. Is it Watson? Or is it a whole new way and direction starting next year with a fresh start?
The Browns might want to look across he field Monday night at the team that prevented them three times from the Superbowl. That’s been to eight of them, winning three. And that is now 7-5 with a shiny new young QB and a Superbowl winning head coach. It’s right in front of you Monday Night.
Just Sayin’
