Cleveland is in the bottom 5 teams in the NFL.
Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season.
CBS Sports – No. 29 (down 3 spots)
At 1-3, they aren’t a good team right now. Injuries to the offensive line have made moving the football a challenge and Deshaun Watson isn’t getting it done. Is it Jameis Winston time soon?
ESPN – No. 27 (down 4 spots)
Biggest issue on defense: Missed tackles
The Browns’ defense hasn’t looked like the elite unit it was in 2023, and missed tackles have played a big role. The issue has become especially problematic on the ground, as Cleveland is allowing 2.24 yards after contact per rush, the worst mark in the NFL. “A lot of guys are going in with their shoulder trying to lay that big hit … first guy’s got to wrap up and slow the runner down and stop his momentum,” defensive end Myles Garrett said after the Browns allowed more than 150 rushing yards to the Raiders on Sunday.
NFL.com – No. 28 (down 2 spots)
The offense has yet to surpass the 18-point mark in four games, and a defense that had earned a reputation as one of the league’s very best cannot make that same claim in 2024. Staked with a 10-0 lead, Cleveland allowed a Raiders team missing multiple starters (including Davante Adams) to score four times in its next five drives. The Browns settled down and generated an opportunity to give themselves a shot with a fourth-quarter scoop-and-score. But the offense couldn’t pick up the slack. A third-quarter INT off Amari Cooper’s hands stung, and then Cooper’s 82-yard TD being called back on a questionable holding penalty was an absolutely crushing blow in Sunday’s loss. This team just isn’t built to sustain those kinds of mistakes right now.
Sporting News – No. 30 (down 2 spots)
Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, and the rest of this offense are messy and dysfunctional. The defense is doing its best but isn’t getting good help.
Yahoo Sports – No. 26 (down 4 spots)
Deshaun Watson gets a lot of negative attention and it’s earned, but the fact is the Browns are a bad team all around. They’ve taken a massive step back from last season and it’s hard to see a turnaround coming. It’s not just Watson’s fault, though he’s not helping much.
Bleacher Report – No. 27 (down 5 spots)
The Cleveland Browns are officially a mess. Cleveland’s injury-ravaged offensive line continues to struggle. The team’s offensive woes are spreading to a defense that allowed 152 rushing yards to one of the worst rushing teams in the league entering Week 4. Players are arguing on the sidelines. Quarterback Deshaun Watson downplayed the latter while addressing the media after the loss, saying that the spat between him, backup signal-caller Jameis Winston and tackle Dawand Jones was simply a matter of players pushing one another to be better.
“Just trying to be great, that’s it,” said Watson. “We just all got to get on the same page, so we can execute and try to win and be explosive. That was it. We all knew [the play would have been a touchdown]. We’ve just got to execute and be on the same page to make those big plays.”
For Davenport, it’s just one more example of how dysfunctional the Browns have become.
“You will no doubt hear plenty in the days to come about how there is still time to turn things around in Cleveland,” he wrote. “But this season is lost. Stick a fork in it. The injuries on the offensive line have rendered the offense toothless, especially when it’s run by a mediocre quarterback. The defense is cracking under the pressure of having to be perfect all the time. Cleveland’s next four games include meeting with the red-hot Commanders and Eagles and AFC North games with the Bengals and Ravens. Given how the Browns have looked this season, splitting those games would be borderline miraculous. When the Browns hit the halfway mark at 3-5 or 2-6, rumbles about the franchise’s future will turn into a roar. And there are no easy answers in that regard, either.”
USA Today – No. 31 (down 3 spots)
Does anyone need a change of scenery more than WR Amari Cooper, who leads the league with six drops? (Bide your time, Coop.)
Listed below is a summary table of where teams in the AFC North are ranked this week.
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| Bengals | Browns | Ravens | Steelers | |
| CBS Sports | 22 | 29 | 6 | 9 |
| ESPN | 24 | 27 | 7 | 12 |
| NFL.com | 21 | 28 | 6 | 10 |
| Sporting News | 20 | 30 | 6 | 7 |
| Yahoo Sports | 19 | 26 | 6 | 13 |
| Bleacher Report | 18 | 27 | 6 | 10 |
| USA Today | 20 | 31 | 3 | 8 |
| Average | 20.6 (up 3.3) |
28.3 (down 3.3) |
5.7 (up 5.9) |
9.9 (down 3.0) |
What do you think of the Browns’ ranking this week?
