There were several reasons why the 2020 Cleveland Browns made their first playoff appearance since the 2002 season and won their first playoff game since 1995.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield elevated his play in his first year in head coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense. The wide receivers overcame the midseason loss of Odell Beckham Jr. to become a unit that was collectively better than perhaps the sum of its individual parts. Running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined to form the league’s best rushing tandem. An opportunistic defense forced turnovers at key times to help make up for its shortcomings.