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The Patriots are entering the gauntlet of their schedule — or are they?

By Zachary Downing

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 21: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots leads his team onto the field before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 21, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 21: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots leads his team onto the field before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 21, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 13: Odell Beckham #13 celebrates with Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns after Mayfield ran in a touchdown during the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 13: Odell Beckham #13 celebrates with Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns after Mayfield ran in a touchdown during the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Cleveland Browns

The only way the Cleveland Browns could have been more over-hyped in the offseason was if Bill Belichick himself returned to become their head coach.

It’s not hard to see why they were so hyped, though. Baker Mayfield had an excellent rookie year, piloting the team to a 7-8-1 record — their best record in 11 years. The defense showed some major promise with ascending players like Myles Garrett, Damarious Randall, and Denzel Ward hitting their stride, and to top it all off, general manager John Dorsey acquired two dynamic offensive weapons during the offseason in Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt.

However, so far this season they haven’t yet been able to shake their one inherent curse: that they’re still the Cleveland Browns.

Mayfield has been statistically awful, throwing five TDs and 11 INTs with a 56% completion percentage. This hasn’t helped Beckham any, who’s been massively underwhelming as a result. Hunt was supposed to be the team’s dual-threat RB, but he’s in the midst of serving a 10-game suspension.

Second-year running back Nick Chubb has certainly been a bright spot who’s helped the team win their only two games, but Cleveland is nowhere near the threat they were presumed to be at the start of the season.

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