Browns Prime-Time Matchup vs. Bengals Means so Much More Than First Place

Despite what the fans or media may want, the Cleveland Browns cannot go back and replay the Jacksonville Jaguars game. Brian Hoyer cannot go back and perform better over the last three games and the running game cannot produce at a higher level. Barring an unforeseen disaster, Johnny Manziel will not be starting Thursday night.

The past is the past and it is time for the Browns to look forward.

Thursday night marks the first time this season that the Browns will have to put on their big-boy pants and prove something to the entire country. Sure, they won a game Week 2 against New Orleans that no one thought they could. They also smacked around the Pittsburgh Steelers just four short weeks ago.

This Thursday night game is different. It is legitimately the biggest game since the Browns played these same Cincinnati Bengals in this very same stadium Week 16 of 2007. A win then would have put them in the playoffs. A victory on Thursday won’t guarantee a postseason berth, but it would mean a whole lot.

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#Browns have chance to be in 1st after this week. Last time they were in 1st after Week 10 was 1994, when Belichick was coach.

— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) November 3, 2014"

If the Browns could win on Primetime television Thursday night it would move them into a tie for first place in the AFC North with the Steelers. It would also put the rest of the league on notice that the Browns are in fact for real.

After starting 3-2 and having just dismantled the Steelers, the Browns were riding high and starting to get some recognition around the country. ESPN.com bumped the Browns up to 15 in their power rankings and analysts across the country starting to believe they might be legit.

Then they laid the egg of all eggs. They lost to a winless Jacksonville team on the road and everyone jumped ship. That ESPN.com ranking plummeted to 20th and fans and media alike started to wonder if it was the right time to bring in Manziel and get him some reps.

Well Manziel never got any time but that hasn’t stopped the conversation from raging on. Even after back-to-back victories, winning four out of their last five and owning a 5-3 record the questions still linger. Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com begrudgingly gave his blessing for Hoyer to stay the starter after Sunday’s victory.

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Brian Hoyer keeps finding a way to win for the Browns, even if it's not always pretty. When he threw an early pick against the Bucs, the camera naturally went to Johnny Manziel. But Hoyer played through it and did some good things in the second half. I still don't think he's the long-term answer for the Browns, but with the team 5-3 he's earned the right to stay in there. I guess.

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But the opinion of everyone outside the locker room does not matter because the head coach and the team believe in Hoyer. He is the starting quarterback, and if the Browns want to win on Sunday and take their most dominating position since returning to the NFL in 1999 then he will have to be a big part of it.

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#Browns Pettine feels Hoyer "has the right demeanor'' to lead the #Browns into Cincy, big stage, huge game. Knows he'll be "poised, focused'

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) November 3, 2014"

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#Browns Thomas on Hoyer: "There's no stage that's too big for him.''

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) November 3, 2014"

It does not matter what city you are in everyone loves the backup quarterback. Now take that thought and insert Manziel as the backup. This situation is to be expected.

But what couldn’t have been expected were the Browns in the position of having Baltimore and Cincinnati chasing them in the division in November. No one thought they could be three games above .500 at this point.

The running game needs to play better, sure. They could certainly use a little better run defense, where they are currently ranked 30th in the league. But despite their deficiencies over the past few weeks the Browns are still in a position to snag a piece of first place. They are still able to see their helmet on those “if the playoffs started now” graphics on ESPN.

Head coach Mike Pettine has done a phenomenal job keeping his guys mentally sharp and ready all season. The only game where they seemed overmatched or ill-prepared was in Jacksonville, and every rookie coach will have a game like that.

Most people around the league are very impressed with the job Pettine has done thus far. Without Pro Bowl receiver Josh Gordon for 10 games and with Pro Bowl tight end Jordan Cameron ineffective, Cleveland still has won five of eight games. Without Pro Bowl center Alex Mack the Browns have still managed to stay afloat and score 20.5 points per game (Mack played for half of the Steelers victory).

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PSA: The Cleveland Browns are 5-3. Mike Pettine in that Coach of the Year talk.

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) November 2, 2014"

If he really wants people to take notice, however, he can do it on Thursday night. He is going up against the second-longest tenured head coach in the league on prime-time television. His team, which has been a perennial doormat in the AFC North, can move ahead of the Bengals who were the favorite to win the division before the season started.

It is not just a huge game for him but for Hoyer as well. He can silence some of his critics by going on the road in front of the entire country and winning a pivotal game. The Manziel supporters will never be silenced in full but he can certainly sway the people who are still undecided.

For cornerback Joe Haden this is a huge game because his 2014 season did not start anywhere near the way he wanted. He has rounded back into his Pro Bowl form as of late but now he must match up against his archnemesis A.J. Green. It seems that one of these two has a huge game every time they meet.

For Donte Whitner, Karlos Dansby and Paul Kruger it is a chance to prove they didn’t just come to Cleveland for the money but because they saw this on the horizon. They can be the ones saying “I told you so” if the Browns emerge victorious on Thursday night.

No, this game cannot guarantee the Browns a playoff spot. It cannot change the minds of those who want Manizel to be the starting quarterback of this team. It cannot even negate the team’s poor performances in the last three weeks against bad football teams.

What it can do, however, is firmly place a flag in the muddy earth that makes up the AFC North. That flag will say the Browns truly have arrived. It doesn’t matter that it took 15 years; they’re here and they will need to be dealt with accordingly.