Cleveland is a city that can never catch a break. Whether it’s the economy, weather or sports, it’s safe to say most of the time things in Cleveland are bleak. 

This year seems to be different. LeBron James has returned home to save his city with his new sidekick, Kevin Love. Citizens of Cleveland have been rejoicing since the middle of July, but during this time, a void of sorrow still remained within the hearts of all Clevelanders. 

That void being the Cleveland Browns...the lowly Cleveland Browns. 

The only thing people discussed in the offseason in relation to the Browns, was how many losses it would take for Johnny Manziel to finally make things interesting in Cleveland and assume the role as “savior of the franchise.”

Even without Johnny Manziel starting, things are plenty interesting.

Surely it is too good to be true; the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse must certainly have arrived. There is absolutely no way that the Browns are a legitimate contender to win their division and make a playoff run. 

Right now, things are too good to be true. There is a good chance that this Browns team might actually be for real. 

For starters, Cleveland’s two loses have been extremely close. Their first loss to the Steelers came down to a three point difference and their second loss was by two to the Ravens. In the Steelers game, it was a tale of two halves. During the first half, the Browns were down by a huge margin, but stormed back in the second half to nearly win the game, but ended up losing 30-27. 

Against the Ravens, the Browns once again found themselves down, but took the lead in the third quarter, only to lose 23-21 in the end. 

SEE ALSO: 7 Predictions For The First College Football Playoff

The most painful thing about their two losses is they came to divisional foes, which might present problems down the road when it comes to who in the division makes it into the playoffs, and who is on the outside looking in. 

As far as the three wins the Browns have, their wins against the Saints, Steelers, and Titans pose evidence that this team is in fact legitimate. Against the Saints, they fell down by one and responded with a drive which got them into field goal range and won as time expired. In the Titans game, they rallied back from a 25 point deficit and ended up winning thanks to a Travis Benjamin touchdown. In the Steelers game, the Browns crushed their rivals winning 31-10. 

A big reason why the Browns are winning is because of the play of Brian Hoyer. Brian Hoyer is not going to set the world on fire with his passing ability, but he is making sound decisions as evident from his 7-1 touchdown to interception ratio. Hoyer is taking care of the ball, and doing what is required of him. 

It also helps that Brian Hoyer has a stellar run game. Teams that run the ball win games. 

Cleveland is third in total rushing in the NFL and have the most rushing touchdowns in the league with 8. The running back position for the Browns is a three headed monster with Ben Tate, Terrance West, and Isiah Crowell. All three backs are more than capable of producing big games. 

Looking forward, the next three weeks give Cleveland an excellent chance to take control of the division as they face some of the worst teams in the league. They face the Jaguars, Raiders, and Buccaneers the next three games and these teams combine to produce 1-16 record. Surely every man, woman, and child are licking their chops right now. 

The Browns are doing proving their doubters wrong by playing sound football. This team rarely makes mistakes and they are being rewarded with wins. If the Browns continue to take care of the ball and rush effectively, there’s a good chance they will find themselves in the playoffs.

Reach Staff Reporter Bradford Evans here.