AFC playoff picture: Browns top AFC North, among the elite

The AFC playoff picture is not as surprising as a few teams at the bottom of the standings. Coming into the 2026 season, almost no one would have expected the Cleveland Browns to be 3-1, but even fewer would have believed that the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans would be 0-4 without losing t

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What is the story about?

The AFC playoff picture is not as surprising as a few teams at the bottom of the standings. Coming into the 2026 season, almost no one would have expected the Cleveland Browns to be 3-1, but even fewer would have believed that the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans would be 0-4 without losing their starting and backup quarterbacks before the start of Week 1.

The Las Vegas Raiders are also a surprising 3-1 to start the year.

A look ahead at the Browns schedule shows some winnable games in the second

quarter of the season. For now, through four weeks, Cleveland is one of six teams in the conference with three or more victories and is tied for the second-best record in the AFC behind the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.

Tiebreakers almost always come into play, even more so early in the season, to have the Browns playoff spot at fourth heading into Week 5, in the AFC North lead due to having a victory in the AFC North, while the Baltimore Ravens do not.