Week 7 Sunday AFC games of interest for Browns fans
The Cleveland Browns did what they needed to do for Week 7 on Thursday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. Coming in with matching 3 – 3 records, both teams were fighting to keep pace in a packed AFC. Prior to their game, the Browns and Broncos were two of the ten teams in the conference with a .500 record or better.
Cleveland and Denver are also in very competitive divisions. Eight of the ten teams with a non-losing record going into Week 7 came from the AFC North and AFC West. The AFC East and AFC South have one team with a winning record, each, and the rest all have losing records including four teams with only one victory.
For the Browns, their 2021 season goals are all still achievable despite their early-season struggles. With a few teams clogging the middle of the conference, Browns fans will have a few games of interest every week. Week 7 is no different with a couple of key matchups:
Bengals Vs Ravens
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The surprising 4 – 2 Cincinnati Bengals go on the road to take on AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens. With their 5 – 1 record, the Ravens also hold a one-game lead on the rest of the AFC.
Baltimore has been able to win despite season-ending injury after season-ending injury this season. The Ravens have quality victories over the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers. Baltimore faced both teams the week after those teams beat the Browns in tough, close games.
The Ravens only loss on the season came in Week 1 against the Los Vegas Raiders in a close one.
The Bengals have ridden the Joe Burrow-Ja’Marr Chase connection, and a somewhat easy schedule, to early-season success. The team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers came due to multiple missed field goals by both teams while the loss to the Chicago Bears is far more surprising.
For Browns fans, deciding which team to root for to win is difficult. If the Ravens win, it is better for Cleveland’s wild card goals. If the Bengals win, it is better for the Browns AFC North chances.
Given everything, Cleveland fans will rarely (never?!) root for Baltimore and should not be close to giving up hope to win the division. Browns fans are far more likely to root for their in-state foes this weekend.
Chiefs Vs Titans
(AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
The other game of interest for Browns fans in Week 7 is the Chiefs visiting the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs have struggled their way to a 3 – 3 mark while the Titans have some good wins, and one bad loss, getting to their 4 – 2 record.
The Titans opened the season getting blown out by the Arizona Cardinals. Six weeks into the season, that loss doesn’t look as bad with the Cardinals the lone undefeated team in the NFL. Tennesee followed that loss with victories over Seattle and Indianapolis before a shocking defeat at the hands of the New York Jets.
The Titans bounced back with an easy win over Jacksonville before an impressive victory over the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 6.
Following their Week 1 victory over the Browns, the Chiefs have lost three games to quality opponents (Baltimore, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills) while getting easy, by comparison, victories over Philadelphia and Washington.
The Kansas City defense is quite terrible while Patrick Mahomes has had issues with turnovers this season. The Chiefs can try to outscore opponents but their defense has given up 29 or more points in five of their six games this season.
For Cleveland, the Titans could run away with their division while the Chiefs could be competitors in the wild card race. With Kansas City holding any tiebreaker over the Browns, fans will find themselves rooting for Tennesee this week.
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