STEVE DOERSCHUK
BEREA — The Browns can dream, can’t they? While they’re at it, they can calculate.
Here’s how Cleveland is back in the playoff race despite its 0-3 start:
n The Browns can reach the halfway point of the season at 4-4 and be tied for the second wildcard spot if they beat Baltimore on Sunday in tandem with the Jets losing at Buffalo.
n Cleveland will pull to within one game of AFC North leader Pittsburgh if the Browns win their next two games — at home against Baltimore and Denver — while Steelers go 1-1 at Washington and at home against the Colts.
One key for the Browns is to be no worse than a game behind Pittsburgh for the Dec. 28 season finale at Heinz Field.
If the Browns beat Pittsburgh and those two teams wind up with the same record — assuming Baltimore fades — the AFC North title will come down to the tiebreaker formula.
The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition. A Dec. 28 Browns win would make it 1-1.
The second tiebreaker is games within the division. That’s where the Browns’ Sept. 21 loss at Baltimore could sting. If the Browns win out against the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers, they would be 4-2 in the AFC North. Even if that happens, Pittsburgh must lose Nov. 20 to Cincinnati or Dec. 14 at Baltimore to match the Browns at 4-2.
Still, trailing the Steelers by two games puts the odds against a Browns division title.
On the other hand, a wildcard spot is realistic. That’s what a 3-1 hot streak can do for a team in the hole.
At the moment, New England (5-2) has the first spot. The Jets and Ravens, both 4-3, are tied for the second.
Suppose the Browns can put together another 3-1 stretch in games against the Ravens, Broncos, Bills and Texans. Easier said than done, but if they do it, there is little doubt they would be in control of one of the wildcard spots.
Other contenders will be knocking each other off. Consider some schedules for the next five weeks:
n Pittsburgh. At Washington, vs. Indianapolis, vs. San Diego, vs. Cincinnati, at New England.
n New England. At Indianapolis, vs. Buffalo, at NY Jets, at Miami, vs. Pittsburgh.
n NY Jets. At Buffalo, vs. St. Louis, at New England, at Tennessee, vs. Denver.
n Baltimore. At Cleveland, bye, at NY Giants, vs. Philadelphia, at Cincinnati.
Two division leaders also could fall back into the wildcard picture. Their five-week schedules:
n Buffalo (5-2). New York Jets, at New England, vs. Cleveland, at Kansas City, vs. San Francisco.
n Denver (4-3). Miami, at Cleveland, at Atlanta, vs. Oakland, at NY Jets.
Browns captain Willie McGinest knows as well as anyone that the Browns aren’t dead at 3-4. He played for New England in 2001, when the Patriots fell to 3-4 with a 31-21 loss at Denver. They won Super Bowl XXXVI three months later.
“Winning on the road was something we didn’t do well last year,” McGinest said in the wake of Sunday’s victory at Jacksonville. “This is kind of a start.
“Winning three of the last four means nothing, except, in the fashion we’re winning certain games, it proves we can win, compete anybody, beat anybody. ... We just have to do it consistently.”
The Browns need to make hay at home, where they play four of their next five.
Three of the four games after that are on the road.
