There was a moment, right after the win against the Las Vegas Raiders, where the Cleveland Browns could have had an 8% chance of making the NFL playoffs if they had won out to finish the 2025 season with
a 9-8 record. After their Week 14 loss to the now two-win Tennessee Titans, the Browns have officially been eliminated from the AFC playoff picture.
With a 3-10 record, despite some very good play from QB Shedeur Sanders this week, Cleveland fans are not shocked by their elimination from the playoffs. Most probably assumed they were eliminated after Week 13, at the latest.
What is surprising is that the Browns could still tie for the lead in the AFC North with a 7-10 record by the time the 2025 regular season closes in Week 18.
How?
First, Cleveland must win their final four games (a very tall task):
- Week 15 @ Chicago Bears
- Week 16 vs Buffalo Bills
- Week 17 vs Pittsburgh Steelers
- Week 18 @ Cincinnati Bengals
Then:
- The Bengals would have to beat the Ravens in Week 15
- The Ravens would have to lose to the Bengals, New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers before beating the Steelers in Week 18
- The Steelers would have to lose their last four games versus the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Browns and Ravens
If all that were to occur (honestly, the only big surprises among all of that would be the Browns winning their four games; everything else is reasonable), three or four (depending on Cincinnati’s other games) of the AFC North teams would tie with seven wins. Baltimore would hold the three-team tiebreaker, according to ESPN’s playoff machine, while Cincinnati would take the division if all four teams tied or, more realistically, if the three non-Browns teams are tied:
The reason Cleveland has already been eliminated, however, is that they lose all of the tiebreakers in this wild outcome where a 7-10 AFC North winner is the fourth seed and hosts a playoff game.
The Browns cannot make the playoffs, but the chaos of the above scenarios could make for a fun finish to the AFC North in 2025.
