Are the Browns True Contenders in the AFC North?

For the third straight week, the Cleveland Browns' fate came down to a game's final seconds.

In Week 1, a Pittsburgh Steelers field goal with five seconds remaining led to a 30-27 loss. In Week 2, the Browns themselves earned a last-second field-goal win, a 26-24 defeat of the New Orleans Saints. And in Week 3, the Browns were bested, 23-21 as the Baltimore Ravens kicked a field goal to win with four seconds remaining.

This 1-2 record prior to Cleveland's bye week is not what the team would like to see in an ideal world. However, it is how the Browns won—and how they lost—that will keep them in contention in the AFC North. 

Quarterback play isn't holding the Browns back as it has in the past. Brian Hoyer completed 19 of 25, or 76 percent, of his passes against the Ravens on Sunday for 290 yards, a touchdown, no interceptions and one sack. He hasn't turned the ball over once yet this season and led the Browns to a fourth-quarter comeback and a game-winning drive in Week 2. 

Hoyer didn't have a clutch drive to secure the win in Week 3, but he did have significant drives and plays that helped keep the Browns in the game. He engineered two straight third-quarter, 80-yard touchdown drives that featured important conversions by Andrew Hawkins and a touchdown by Miles Austin.

Hoyer has also been very capable of spreading the ball around. Heading into Week 3, the Browns' leading receiver was Hawkins, with 14 receptions for 157 yards; he added 87 yards on seven catches Sunday. Austin had eight catches for 64 yards and a score before Sunday, adding another six catches for 51 yards and a TD against Baltimore. Eight Browns have at least three catches apiece through three games.

Hoyer has been able to accomplish this without the help of Josh Gordon, who won't return from suspension until Week 11, and mostly without tight end Jordan Cameron, who was forced off the field with a shoulder injury in Week 1 and missed Week 2 while he healed.

That the passing game has been so productive with a seeming lack of playmakers is a sign of change in Cleveland. And the run game has improved as well, perhaps the start of a major turnaround from 2013 when the Browns averaged 86.4 yards per game.

Cleveland ran for 91 yards Sunday against a Baltimore team who came into Week 3 ranked eighth for giving up an average of just 89 rushing yards per game. However, the Browns did produce a one-yard rushing touchdown by Terrance West. 

Though the Browns ground game may have played to type as far as the Ravens defense is concerned, the team did surpass 100 rushing yards in each of its first two games: 122 yards against the Saints and 191 against the Steelers. Cleveland also was very balanced on offense in Week 3, with 29 total team rushes to 25 Hoyer pass attempts. 

With one of the more effective Browns offenses that we've seen since 2007, the team has been able to stay in games until the very end. Finishing is still a concern, as the losses against Pittsburgh and Baltimore attest, especially since this is a team that was built for the defense to bail out the offense.

That defense, crafted by head coach Mike Pettine, might be the Browns' biggest disappointment so far this season. It's one reason why the Browns may not stay in divisional contention for long.

USA TODAY Sports

Cornerback Joe Haden has been increasingly exposed this season, particularly by the Ravens and receiver Steve Smith Sr. The Baltimore receiver had five catches on seven targets, netting 101 yards on Sunday. Though Smith did not have a touchdown, his 32-yard catch against Haden with under 1:30 left in the fourth quarter directly led to Baltimore's game-winning field goal.

But the secondary and Haden are less of a concern than the Browns' run-stoppers up front. Before Week 3, the Browns had been giving up 150.5 rushing yards per game after allowing 127 yards on the ground to the Steelers in Week 1 and 174 to the Saints in Week 2.

Game	Opp. Rush Yds.	Opp. Rush Atts.	Opp. Yds/Rush	Opp. Rush TD
@ PIT	127	29	4.4	2
vs. NO	174	27	6.4	1
vs. BAL	160	33	4.8	1
Average	153.7	29.7	5.2	1.3

That trend continued against the Ravens in Week 3, with Baltimore totaling 160 rushing yards and averaging 4.8 yards per carry on their 33 combined attempts. The Ravens scored a rushing touchdown Sunday, and another first-half drive featured nine straight running plays before ending with a nine-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk. 

It's now becoming very clear that running the ball on the Browns keeps Hoyer and the offense off the field, significantly wears down the defense and often produces touchdowns. The Browns must use their Week 4 bye to address the problems they have stopping the run, or it's going to be a difficult season.

Prolific running teams are ahead for the Browns—the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills,  Houston Texans,  Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons. All are averaging well above 100 rushing yards per game.

Team	Record	Div. Record
CIN	3-0	1-0
BAL	2-1	2-1
PIT	1-1	1-1
CLE	1-2	0-2

Cleveland's offense looks solid enough to pick up the defensive slack on occasion, but it's going to be a tall order to ask them to do so week after week. As much as that can result in a win, like in Week 2, it can also result in a loss, as it did on Sunday. The defense and offense must both be consistently productive. Fits and spurts won't get the job done.

Neither will penalties, which the Browns committed 12 of on Sunday, nor missed field goals; Billy Cundiff missed a 50-yard attempt and had a 36-yard try blocked against Baltimore.

The other barrier between the Browns and AFC North contention is the rest of the AFC North. The Bengals have a 3-0 record and a 1-0 record in the division. The Ravens are 2-1 in the division. All three of the Browns' divisional opponents are becoming increasingly dependent on running the ball, which is Cleveland's biggest defensive weakness.

The Browns have proved, through three close games, that this is a team that possesses more fight than it did with either Pat Shurmur or Rob Chudzinski at head coach. There is a significant amount of talent on the roster, from Hoyer and the two rookie backs, to Hawkins and Austin, to defensive playmakers like safety Tashaun Gipson and team sacks leader Paul Kruger.

The Browns are better this year than the last, even if the record already feels woefully familiar. However, they'll have to improve further to challenge for the AFC North crown. The undefeated Bengals are one of the league's best teams, and even the struggling Steelers have a divisional-win advantage over the Browns at present. 

The scrappiness this team possesses, however, could cause good things to happen, especially with a week off ahead to rest, recover and, most importantly, make adjustments. But scrappiness cannot make up for an inability to protect leads or to defend the run.

Keeping games close is good, but winning them is better; winning games by a large margin is even better still. The Browns need to prove they can do the latter two. They've only got the "keeping it close" thing down at this point.