Last week, after falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 38-7 blowout, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield said that being 4-2 never felt so much like being 0-6 before. The Browns, of course, were 4-1 heading into that game and looking for the first time in decades like a possible contender before the Steelers played Lucy with the football to Cleveland’s Charlie Brown.
Unfortunately for the Browns, there is some merit to Mayfield’s moaning. With their 31-point loss, they suddenly have a substantially negative points differential at minus-24. According to Elias, this is the seventh occurrence of a team with a record of 4-2 or better to have a points differential that low, and each previous team failed to reach the playoffs.