Welcome to Week 4 of the NFL! This weekly column includes a lot of loose ends leading up to Sunday’s game.
1. Respect Around the NFL: The Browns getting that first win last week over the Jets was a big step forward. No longer does that lingering thought exist in other teams’ minds that “we can’t be the team that loses to the Browns.” Cleveland shot up in the power rankings. Pro Football Focus predicted the Browns to win in nearly a clean sweep among their analysts:
It feels fantastic. We have suffered through plenty of miserable seasons, but in particular, the first two years under Hue Jackson’s watch tested our patience more than ever before.