For Cleveland Browns fans, rooting for any AFC North rival feels wrong. There are many sayings that could replace “wrong” in that sentence but we will keep it “G-rated” this Sunday morning. Saturday afternoon, Browns fans who care about the NFL draft order were rooting for the Cincinnati Bengals and saw their division rival come through in wild fashion.
Watching the game live had swings of emotion all over the place which made an overtime finish, with just over a minute to go before a tie, the appropriate ending between the Denver Broncos and Bengals.
A look at the fourth-quarter possessions for both teams shows just how wild the finish was:
On the third possession of overtime, former Cleveland kicker Cade York doinked a 33-yard field goal off the left upright that would have won the game for Cincinnati. The Broncos took over with 2:43 left in overtime needing just a tie to secure their playoff spot and knock the Bengals, among other teams (important to the Browns), out of contention.
Instead, Bo Nix couldn’t get anything going and only took 23 seconds off the clock.
That was enough time for QB Joe Burrow to drive Cincinnati down the field and into scoring position. This time, the Bengals didn’t leave it up to York with Burrow hitting Tee Higgins for a three-yard touchdown reception to end the game.
Why was that important for Cleveland fans?
If Denver had won, not only would the Bengals have been eliminated from playoff contention but the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts would have as well. The Dolphins listed all of their key offensive players as questionable for their matchup with the Browns on Sunday then downgraded QB Tua Tagovailoa. With nothing to play for, Miami may have played it cautiously with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Terron Armstead and Tagovailoa.
Now, the Dolphins have something to play for which can help Cleveland’s NFL draft stock. Miami still needs help as they lost to the Colts but would hold the tiebreaker over both the Broncos and Bengals.
While the Browns, and many of their fans, will not be happy with another loss, a pointless win in Week 17 that takes them out of contention for the top pick in the 2025 NFL draft would do more harm. With the Dolphins now having something to play for, that possibility is lessened.
Thank you, Cincinnati.
Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterJan 1, 2025, 06:00 AM ETCloseBen Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he w
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