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2023 playoff Browns better than 2020 playoff team, Bitonio says | Jeff Schudel

Joel Bitonio did not take long pondering his answer when asked which Browns playoff team is better — the 2020 team that finished 11-5 and advanced as a wild-card team, or the 2023 Browns team that is 11-5 with one game to play.

“I think we’re a better team this time,” Bitonio said after the Browns beat the Jets, 37-20, on Dec. 28 to clinch a playoff spot. “I think we’re more well-rounded. Our defense is playing at a very high level and our special teams are up to the job and our offense is continuing to click.”

Bitonio was a rookie second-round draft pick in 2014. He played six seasons without being on a team with a winning record before the 2020 season. He started all 16 games in the 2020 regular season, but then he tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to watch from home when the Browns beat the Steelers, 48-37, in a wild-card game in Pittsburgh. He was cleared to play against the Chiefs in a divisional playoff game, but the Browns were eliminated, 22-17.

“It was disappointing,” Bitonio said. “The guys stepped up, and then I got to play in the playoffs after that. We didn’t win that one in Kansas City, but you want a chance at it every year. It was definitely disappointing, a little bittersweet last time, so hopefully we can keep this one sweet.”

The numbers show Bitonio was correct when he says the 2023 Browns are better than the 2020 team.

Though the 2020 Browns won 11 games — their best showing since 1994 when the pre-expansion Browns were also 11-5 — the 2020 Browns were outscored, 419-408. The 2023 Browns have a 382-321 scoring edge.

Baker Mayfield started all 16 games in 2020. He threw 26 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions. It seemed as though the Kevin-Stefanski-Mayfield marriage would last for years and years. That isn’t what happened, of course, but that’s a topic not worth dredging up today.

Four quarterbacks have won games for the 2023 Browns — Deshaun Watson, P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Joe Flacco, in that order. Flacco in five starts has more touchdown passes (13) than the other three (10) combined.

The 321 points scored on the Browns isn’t a fair gauge of how well the defense has played because opponents have returned four interceptions, one fumble by Watson and one kick for a touchdown.

The true measure of the way the Browns are dominating defensively is what they do on third down. Opponents are converting on third down only 29.36 percent of the time. The Browns are the best in the league in that category. The Broncos are second-best at 32.58 percent.

The Browns finished their regular season home schedule 8-1, and third-down defense is a major reason for that. Opponents converted only 25 percent of the time on third down at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Opponents have converted 35.56 percent of the time when the Browns are the visiting team.

“We’re the best third-down defense in the league by a pretty good chunk, I think, and Myles Garrett has everything to do with that,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Our corners, all three (Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson and Greg Newsome), are really high in their coverage percentages. Every single one of them can attribute some of that to Myles Garrett.”

The stout defense has enabled the Browns to run nearly 200 more offensive plays than their opponents — 1,134 compared to 943.

The 2020 playoff Browns were 25th on third down defense, allowing opponents to keep drives moving 44.78 percent of the time. Opponents ran 1,035 plays in 2020. The Brows ran 1,022.

• The Browns are currently seeded fifth in the AFC playoffs. They would play AFC South leader Jacksonville if the playoffs began today.

The Browns finish the regular season on Jan. 6 or 7 in Cincinnati. The date will be determined after games Dec. 31 conclude.

The team with the best record in each conference earns a first-round bye. The Baltimore Ravens (12-3) are currently the top seed in the AFC North. The Browns could still win the division, but only if the Ravens lose at home to Miami and Pittsburgh and the Browns beat the Bengals to finish the regular season. Cleveland would earn the No. 1 seed if the Ravens lose their last two games, the Browns beat the Bengals and the Bills beat the Dolphins in Miami.

The Jaguars, Texans and Colts are all 8-7 in the AFC South. The Jags are in first place because they own the tiebreaker over the Texans and Colts; the Jaguars are 4-1 in the division. The Colts are 3-2 and the Texans are 2-2.

The Browns’ superior record (11-5) doesn’t matter. Unless they win the AFC North, they will open the playoffs on the road because they would be a wild-card team.

Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence (shoulder injury) is not playing Dec. 31 in a home game against the Carolina Panthers. The Jags finish the regular season on the road against the Titans.

The Texans finish the season with a home game against the Titans on Dec. 31 and a road game at Indianapolis. The Colts’ final two games are at home against the Raiders and Texans.

C.J. Stroud is starting for the Texans at quarterback after missing the previous two games with a concussion. If the Jaguars stumble and the Texans win the division, that would mean the Browns would have to win in Houston again just three weeks after beating the Texans there (36-22) when Case Keenum was the Texans quarterback.

I didn’t know that

… until I read my Snapple bottle cap.

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