Aaron Rodgers did almost everything you could ask from a quarterback.
299 passing yards.
Three touchdown passes.
A fourth-quarter comeback.
A game-tying two-point conversion.
And somehow, the Pittsburgh Steelers still walked out of Cleveland with a loss.
The Cleveland Browns won 27–24 on Thursday night after Andre Szmyt drilled a career-long 56-yard field goal with just 10 seconds remaining. Cleveland then sealed the game when Grant Delpit intercepted Rodgers’ final pass.
And now Cleveland is sitting at 3–1.
First place in the AFC North.
Three straight wins.
That is not where most people expected the Browns to be after four weeks.
So here comes the question that nobody expected to be asking this early:
Are the Cleveland Browns actually legit?
Or are we watching one of those NFL starts that looks great in September and falls apart when the schedule gets serious?
Because after what happened against Pittsburgh, I’m starting to think Cleveland deserves a little more respect.
Rodgers Wasn’t the Problem — And That’s What Makes This Loss Hurt
Let’s start with Aaron Rodgers.
The 42-year-old quarterback was far from perfect, but he absolutely gave Pittsburgh a chance.
Rodgers completed 22 of 40 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions and was sacked five times.
The crazy part came late.
Pittsburgh was down 21–10 at halftime.
The Steelers fought their way back.
Rodgers threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Washington.
Then, with less than two minutes remaining, he connected with Pat Freiermuth for a three-yard touchdown.
Rodgers then ran in the two-point conversion himself.
Suddenly, the game was tied 24–24.
That is exactly the kind of comeback drive people expected from a veteran quarterback.
And then Cleveland answered.
That’s the part Steelers fans are going to hate.
Cleveland Didn’t Panic When Everything Fell Apart
This is where the Browns deserve credit.
They had an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Then Pittsburgh came charging back.
A younger team could have completely collapsed.
Instead, Deshaun Watson took the ball with the score tied and moved Cleveland 36 yards on seven plays, putting Szmyt in position for the winning kick.
The rookie kicker didn’t blink.
56 yards.
Game over.
That’s three consecutive wins for Cleveland.
And suddenly the Browns aren’t simply surviving games.
They’re finding ways to finish them.
Deshaun Watson Is Quietly Changing the Conversation
This might be the most surprising part of Cleveland’s start.
Deshaun Watson isn’t putting up video-game numbers.
Against Pittsburgh, he completed 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
But look at the bigger picture.
Cleveland has now won three straight games.
Watson has played a major role in those victories.
And Thursday wasn’t the first time he delivered a late-game drive.
According to the Browns, Watson has now led a go-ahead fourth-quarter drive in three consecutive games.
That changes the conversation.
The question isn’t:
“Can Watson put up huge numbers?”
It’s becoming:
“Can Watson make enough plays when Cleveland needs them?”
So far, the answer has been yes.
This Defense Is Starting to Look Dangerous
If you’re looking for the real reason Cleveland is 3–1, look at the defense.
The Browns intercepted Rodgers twice and recorded five sacks.
Denzel Ward’s interception was particularly important.
Pittsburgh was threatening after opening the game with a long scoring drive.
Ward picked off Rodgers.
Cleveland suddenly had momentum.
And the Browns turned that defensive play into points.
That’s how good teams win.
They don’t necessarily dominate every minute.
They wait for the opponent to make a mistake.
Then they punish it.
But Cleveland Nearly Gave This Game Away
Now let’s pump the brakes.
Because the Browns weren’t perfect.
Not even close.
They had an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and watched Pittsburgh erase it.
Cleveland also committed 14 penalties for 88 yards.
That’s a serious problem.
Against a better team, those mistakes could easily turn into a loss.
And that’s why I’m not ready to call Cleveland a Super Bowl contender.
Yet.
They have to clean this up.
A team can’t repeatedly give opponents extra opportunities and expect a 56-yard field goal to save them every week.
But There’s Something Different About This Browns Team
Here’s the part that has me interested.
Bad teams usually find ways to lose close games.
This Cleveland team is doing the opposite.
They blew a lead.
They gave up a comeback.
The game was tied.
And they still won.
That’s three straight games where Cleveland has found a way to finish.
There’s value in that.
You can’t simply dismiss it as luck.
At some point, repeatedly winning close games becomes evidence of something.
Maybe it’s confidence.
Maybe it’s coaching.
Maybe it’s players finally believing they belong.
Or maybe Cleveland is simply getting very comfortable playing under pressure.
Whatever it is, the Browns have it right now.
Aaron Rodgers Actually Made Cleveland Look Better
Ironically, Rodgers’ performance may make this win more impressive.
Think about it.
This wasn’t Cleveland beating a quarterback who couldn’t move the football.
Rodgers threw for nearly 300 yards.
He threw three touchdowns.
He led a fourth-quarter comeback.
He tied the game.
And Cleveland still found a way to win.
That’s important.
Because if Pittsburgh had simply played terribly, we’d have a different conversation.
Instead, Cleveland beat a Steelers team that showed enough offense to win the game.
The Browns just made more winning plays when it mattered.
And Then There’s T.J. Watt
Cleveland wasn’t exactly facing a defense full of backups either.
T.J. Watt was doing T.J. Watt things.
He recorded a sack, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
But Pittsburgh’s defense couldn’t finish the job.
That’s another thing Cleveland should take confidence from.
The Browns survived a game where one of the NFL’s most dangerous defenders was constantly creating problems.
They still scored 27 points.
They still won.
And they did it with their quarterback throwing only one touchdown.
That tells you Cleveland doesn’t necessarily need Watson to carry the entire offense.
Quinshon Judkins Is Giving Cleveland Another Weapon
The Browns also got touchdowns from Jaleel McLaughlin and Quinshon Judkins, while Harold Fannin Jr. caught a touchdown from Watson.
That’s important.
Cleveland isn’t asking one player to win every game.
The offense is finding different ways to score.
The running game contributed.
The tight end made a play.
The quarterback moved the ball.
The defense created turnovers.
And the kicker delivered when everything was on the line.
That’s a pretty good recipe.
But Is 3–1 Fool’s Gold?
This is where the real debate begins.
Cleveland is 3–1.
That sounds impressive.
But four games isn’t a season.
The Browns still have to prove they can beat good teams consistently.
They also have to stop making games harder than they need to be.
Giving up an 11-point fourth-quarter lead is not sustainable.
Fourteen penalties isn’t sustainable.
Depending on a 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds left isn’t sustainable.
So no, I’m not ready to put Cleveland in the AFC’s elite tier.
But I’m also done calling this team a fluke.
Cleveland Is Suddenly Sitting on Top of the AFC North
Here’s something that sounds strange after what happened to the Browns in recent seasons:
Cleveland is in first place.
At 3–1, the Browns are ahead of the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers in the AFC North. Pittsburgh dropped to 2–2 after Thursday night’s loss.
And Cleveland has won three straight.
That’s a real division lead.
Not a preseason prediction.
Not an offseason hype story.
Actual results.
The Browns are earning it.
And that makes the next few weeks very interesting.
The Watson Question Is Changing Too
For a long time, the conversation around Deshaun Watson in Cleveland was about what went wrong.
The massive contract.
The trade.
The injuries.
The disappointing seasons.
The expectations.
Now the conversation is starting to change.
Maybe Watson doesn’t need to become the quarterback who throws for 4,500 yards.
Maybe Cleveland simply needs him to be steady.
Make the big throw.
Avoid the disastrous mistake.
Move the offense late.
Let the defense do its job.
That’s basically what happened against Pittsburgh.
And if Watson can continue playing like this?
The Browns become much more interesting.
Here’s My Biggest Concern for Cleveland
The biggest concern isn’t Watson.
It’s whether the Browns can continue winning games that require late heroics.
Eventually, somebody will blow them out.
Every team has a bad game.
But Cleveland needs to prove it can also win comfortably.
Because if every Sunday becomes:
“We had a lead, blew it, then needed a miracle at the end…”
that’s going to catch up with them.
Good teams can survive those games.
Great teams don’t need them every week.
That’s the next step for Cleveland.
SportsLoud’s Prediction: Yes, Cleveland Is Legit — But Don’t Get Carried Away
Here’s where I land.
Yes.
I think the Browns are legit.
But I don’t think they’re a Super Bowl favorite.
Not yet.
What Cleveland has shown is that it can compete.
It can defend.
It can create turnovers.
It can run the football.
It can get enough from Watson.
And most importantly, it can finish games.
That’s a dangerous combination.
The Browns are also playing with something that can’t be measured easily:
confidence.
Three straight wins will do that.
And after Thursday night, Cleveland knows something important.
They can be punched in the mouth.
They can lose an 11-point lead.
They can watch Aaron Rodgers throw three touchdowns.
And they can still win.
That’s valuable.
The Steelers May Have Accidentally Given Cleveland More Respect
Pittsburgh should have won this game.
At least, that’s probably how Steelers fans feel.
They came back from 21–10 down.
Rodgers tied the game.
The offense was moving.
They had momentum.
And then Cleveland drove down the field and kicked a 56-yard field goal.
That’s brutal.
But it also tells us something.
Cleveland didn’t fold.
They answered.
And that’s what separates a promising team from one that is simply getting lucky.
So… Are the Browns Actually Legit?
I’m buying them.
Not as an AFC powerhouse.
Not as a guaranteed playoff team.
And certainly not as a Super Bowl favorite.
But as a team that deserves to be taken seriously?
Absolutely.
The Browns are 3–1.
They’re sitting on top of the AFC North.
They’ve won three straight.
Their defense is creating turnovers and pressure.
Watson is making enough plays.
And Cleveland just beat Aaron Rodgers after he threw three touchdown passes and led a fourth-quarter comeback.
That’s not nothing.
The Browns still have flaws.
A lot of them.
But maybe that’s exactly what makes this team interesting.
They don’t have to be perfect.
They just have to keep finding ways to win.
And right now?
That’s exactly what Cleveland is doing.
The Browns aren’t asking anyone to believe they’re the best team in the NFL.
They’re simply asking the league to stop overlooking them.
After Thursday night, I’m listening.
**Cleveland is 3–1.
And suddenly, the AFC North has a new problem.
