Can Browns win? Patriots got blasted last time they played at Cleveland #tbt
It seems like it would take a Leicester City-level upset for the 0-4 Cleveland Browns to beat the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The Browns are getting that early “0-16?” buzz. The Patriots went 3-1 without Tom Brady, and you have to assume they won’t be worse with one of the greatest quarterbacks ever back in the lineup.
Really though, no NFL upset is that big of an upset. These are all professionals, and anything can happen in a one-game scenario. And, the Browns have destroyed the Patriots before.
Yes, that happened. Every year in the NFL there are some baffling results but what happened the last time the Patriots played at Cleveland … it’s still really weird, almost six years later.
On Nov. 7, 2010, the Patriots traveled to play the Browns. The Browns were coached by Eric Mangini, often cited as the main whistle-blower in the Spygate scandal. You probably think Brady will be motivated for his return, but it’s probably a fraction of how much Bill Belichick wanted to beat Mangini. The Browns also regrettably fired Belichick way back when. Motivation wasn’t an issue.
The Browns were 2-5. The Patriots were 6-1. And Cleveland entirely crushed New England. It wasn’t close. The Browns led 17-7 at the half. They out-gained the Patriots 404-283. It was so out of hand by the end that Brian Hoyer mopped up for Brady late in the fourth quarter.
Now, quickly, a short intermission while we list the “oh, that guy!” guys who played in that game:
Peyton Hillis
BenJarvus Green-Ellis
Mike Bell
Mohamed Massaquoi
Sammy Morris
Scott Fujita
Gerard Warren
Alge Crumpler
Chansi Stuckey
You know it’s a bit of a strange day when rookie Browns quarterback Colt McCoy (101.6 rating) out-duels Brady (90.5). Hillis had 184 yards rushing and two touchdowns, which offset two touchdowns by rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez (strange to see his name in a football-playing context).
The New York Times’ online headline for the AP recap was “Browns Beat the Patriots in Every Way Possible.” Hopefully some Browns fans framed that.
“They did everything better than we did,” Belichick said after the game, in that AP story. “In every single aspect, they clearly were the better team.”
And nothing from that game carried over. The Browns ended up 5-11. The Patriots didn’t lose another regular-season game, finishing 14-2. The Browns have finished with a losing record and in last place of the AFC North every season since. The Patriots haven’t won fewer than 12 games in a season since, winning the AFC East each year.
But somehow, on Nov. 7, 2010, the Browns were the clearly superior team. So don’t count the Browns out on Sunday. Weird things happen in the NFL sometimes.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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