While yesterday was Halloween, Sunday of Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season feels like it could be a trick or treat for Cleveland Browns fans. Few expected the Browns to be 5-2, including 2-0 in the AFC North, heading into today’s game, but here we are. A divisional face-off with the Pittsburgh Steelers that will decide the divisional lead and potentially impact NFL trade deadline decisions
to kick off November.There was a time this offseason when many wondered if Cleveland would punt on the season, given
QB Deshaun Watson’s contract and a swath of long-term veterans hitting the free agent market. The belief was GM Andrew Berry would trade back in the NFL draft, limit his veteran free agent signings, and build for the future when a young franchise quarterback was added to the team.
Full disclosure, it was at that point the rest of this article was written. A combination of communication and timing issues kept it from being published; this is me taking responsibility, but I held on to it believing I would either be able to use it like this or, if things went horribly wrong this season, as a “see, they should have punted.”
Excited to edit the piece slightly, with the former being the reason. It is games like Week 8, with so much on the line and so much excitement, that Curtiss had in mind when he encouraged the team to not punt and instead to build:
Rooting for an NFL team can either be fun or miserable. Based on the moves that the team does during the offseason, fans are either bracing for a Super Bowl run or preparing for a rebuild. For the Cleveland Browns, at one point this team was in the playoff discussion not so long ago. Now, the team is in the middle of a roster “retool,” not a rebuild.
Offensively, the unit looks much improved on paper, but the quarterback position is still unsettled. Defensively, this is still one of the top units in the league, assuming that defensive end Myles Garrett will still be on the team when training camp rolls around (We all know what happened there).
The fanbase is mixed on what the Browns will be this season. Half of the fanbase believes the team will be picking top 5 in the draft again next year, while the other half believes that this team could sneak into the playoffs. It’s something that’s worth discussing.
Internally, the Cleveland organization might have a different view of what the team will be than the fans’ perspective. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is a polarizing figure in this city. Haslam is willing to do what it takes to put a winning product on the field, but oftentimes he gets far too involved in the process of doing that. He has at least taken accountability of that, to some extent:
Haslam owning up to the team’s recent struggles is growth in terms of accountability. He understands why fans are frustrated, and he is doing whatever it takes to fix it. That is why it was in the best interest of the Browns to be competitive instead of punting this season. Giving up on a season before it starts is rarely beneficial to anyone, especially a skeptical one.
However, the way the team operated this offseason shows that they aren’t punting; instead, they want to be competitive. The offense has been overhauled, from the offensive line to the skill positions. Quarterback aside, the unit looks better on paper. The schedule should also be taken into account as well.
Being competitive this season can be beneficial for all parties. It helps establish a standard for a very young roster. Teaching the new players brought in the last two years that losing is not acceptable.
Last season, the team was not as bad as their record indicated, and this upcoming season it would be disingenuous to think that this team won’t be better than last season due to the moves they made in free agency and in the draft, despite the Garrett trade.
Now, Browns fans wake up after an extra hour of sleep with a chance to watch their team and see if they are ready to really compete for an AFC North title (which would be their first) and still have excitement heading into the third month of the 2026 NFL season. A huge improvement over the last two seasons; so glad the team didn’t punt on 2026.
