The Bills and the Browns Give Hope to All “Cursed” NFL Teams
“Super” Wild Card weekend has come and gone and there are plenty of storylines that have formed from it. Tom Brady and Drew Brees keep on rolling on despite their old age while Phillip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger both leave the field with their futures in question. Two of the best stories revolve around some of the younger quarterbacks featured this weekend. Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen.
Coming into this season, there were some who believed it was a do-or-die situation in Cleveland for Baker Mayfield. After an impressive rookie season, Mayfield’s sophomore season left many wondering if the year prior was just a flash in the pan. His third season has been a nice bounce back year, particularly once Odell Beckham Jr. had a season-ending injury. That helped Mayfield open up the field and show off his talent. Mayfield led the Browns to an 11–5 record and their first playoff appearance since 2002.
Josh Allen on the other hand had some promise after his first two years. His accuracy and decision making was what made many skeptical of him. He got the Bills to the playoffs last season, but ultimately came up short. This season, Allen improved his accuracy by over 10%. He was constantly in the MVP talks throughout the year. He led the Buffalo Bills to their first AFC East title since 1995.
Both Mayfield and Allen won their games this weekend. The Bills beat the Colts in a close game, 27–24. The Browns shocked the entire world Sunday night when they opened up a 28–0 lead in the first quarter. The Steelers eventually made it interesting for a short time, but the Browns would go on to win the game 48–37. It’s their first playoff win since 1995 (technically the 1994 season).
The Browns and Bills were both teams considered “cursed” for a long time. Or at least they were considered teams that had really awful luck. The Browns were only the second team to go 0–16, and that was just three seasons ago. The Bills lost four straight Super Bowls from 1991 to 1994. The losing these teams have gone through are the reason why they both are America’s team. Maybe the Browns more so due to the 0–16 season being so fresh still, but both fan bases have been longing for playoff success.
The recent successes for these two franchises are what make the NFL so great. No matter who you are, there is always hope. If your team is bad, there is always the NFL draft where said team could theoretically draft the next Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes. It rarely works out like that, but the hope of it working out is what keeps fans believing year in and year out.
If the Browns can win a playoff game, why can’t a team like the Lions, who haven’t won a playoff game since 1992. Or how about the Bengals who haven’t won since 1990? Miami Dolphins haven’t won since 2000. The list goes on.
Maybe another “cursed” team will come through next season and get over the hump? Possibly they will find a young QB in the draft and build around him. Perhaps one of these “cursed” teams will find a reclamation project like the Titans did with Ryan Tannehill. Sam Darnold could possibly be available. There’s always hope in the NFL. Bills and Browns fans can speak to that.
