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Denver Broncos (3-3) at Cleveland Browns (3-3)
Is anyone else old enough to remember when the Broncos and Browns used to meet in the AFC Championship Game seemingly every year? Those were back in the days of NFC dominance during the streak, when the NFC won 13 consecutive Super Bowls. The Broncos won all three AFC Championship Game meetings between these two teams. Then, they would seemingly always get blown out by the NFC team in the Super Bowl.
Well, things have changed in the NFL since. NFC dominance is clearly a thing of the past. In fact, the AFC has won more Super Bowls since the NFC streak ended than the NFC has. And the Denver Broncos, who were 0-4 in Super Bowls during their franchise history after the streak, now have won three Super Bowl titles during their history.
Many other teams have seen their fortunes change since then, as well. Some for the better, and some for the worse. Washington, Miami, and the Raiders (Los Angeles, Oakland, or now Las Vegas) were all traditional powerhouses back in those days. Since then, each of those teams seem to really struggle just to qualify for the postseason, and usually fail to do so. The Cowboys also have fallen into hard times since then, although they look like a powerhouse this season, and have enjoyed some impressive seasons, albeit on a sporadic kind of manner. And the Patriots, Packers, and Ravens have become a force in the league since then. The Pats and the Pack were largely irrelevant during the days of the streak, although the Packers were rising towards the end of it and, in fact, were the last NFC team to win a Super Bowl during the streak, although they were also the team that dropped the ball and lost that streak for the NFC the following season. As for the Ravens, they used to be known, back then, as the Cleveland Browns. Anyone who does not remember that or know the history can look it up on their own time, but this has added to what has come to be known almost as a culture of failure when it comes to Cleveland sports. The Cavaliers did win an NBA title some years ago, but the other two franchises did not win much of anything since, and the Browns, in particular, seemed to have a painful past.
Things have begun to really turn around there, though. They have a talented team, and not only qualified for the playoffs last season, but then beat their arch rivals, the Steelers, in Pittsburgh in the playoffs last January. They started off this season flying high, and looking like one of the favorites to go all the way. They were very hyped up, and indeed, appeared to be living up to that hype after racing off to an impressive 3-1 start.
That, unfortunately, feels like a long time ago. They have now lost two straight games, and at 3-3, they hardly look like a sure thing to even qualify for the playoffs. A close loss to the Chargers in Los Angeles was followed up by a blowout loss at home to the undefeated Cardinals. Just like that, it feels like a lot of the air went out of the balloon for the Browns. Still, the Browns are one game behind Cincinnati and two behind the Ravens, and sure still seem to have the talent to justify playoff hopes this season, despite the hard times they have suffered through in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the Broncos also raced off to an impressive start, and were 3-0, facing their first real test when they hosted the Ravens. But they lost that, and that was the first of three straight losses. Considering the fact that their first three wins came against three of the weakest teams in the league (the Giants, the Jaguars, and the Jets), a lot of people were skeptical to begin with, but the Broncos are desperate to prove that they are for real. Right now, they are tied, rather surprisingly, with the Chiefs, for last place in the AFC West, and both of them are one game behind the Chargers and Raiders, who are tied atop the division with 4-2 records.
So hope is certainly not lost for either team. That makes this a big game for both teams. Both teams desperately need to snap their current losing streaks, and get back to their former winning ways. The Browns want to prove that they are talented enough t justify high hopes in and around Cleveland, while the Broncos want to prove that their fast start was not the fluke, and that this is the first season since their Super Bowl championship season in 2015 when they are for real.
Only one team can win. Despite their recent problems, I still like the Browns, at home, to knock off the Broncos and at least alleviate some of the pressure that they have been under.
My pick: Cleveland
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