The Cleveland Browns Can Still Make The Playoffs

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns' still have a (slim) chance of making the playoffs. The team won a Saturday night match-up with the Denver Broncos to keep the fire of hope burning.

The Saturday win was the first time Cleveland has beaten Denver since 1990. Any victory against the Broncos is extra sweet for Northeast Ohioans who had to live through "The Drive" and "The Fumble."

The Browns are now 6-7-1 and have a narrow path to the playoffs. A lot will need to break right over the next two weeks for Cleveland to sneak into a Wild Card spot.

Cleveland can't win the AFC North anymore, that was taken off the table when the Pittsburgh Steelers knocked off the New England Patriots on Sunday. The AFC has two Wild Card spots in the playoffs, though, and one could go to Cleveland.

Right now, the fifth seed (a Wild Card spot) belong to the 11-3 Los Angeles Chargers. Cleveland can't catch them. Let's look at the sixth seed.

Baltimore, the team currently slotted into the sixth spot, has an 8-6 record. Right behind the Ravens are the 8-6 Indianapolis Colts and the 8-6 Tennessee Titans. The Miami Dolphins, who lost on Sunday, are 7-7. Then...there's Cleveland, at 6-7-1.

For Cleveland to leapfrog all of the teams in front of them, a lot has to happen. First, and most obviously, the Browns have to win their final two games. Then...they need a lot of things to break their way.

The Colts and Titans need to lose their Week 16 match-up and then tie each other in Week 17. The Dolphins and Ravens need to lose both their final two games.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Obviously, the biggest hurdle will be the Week 17 tie. It's easy to picture a team losing, it's harder to picture two teams vying for a single playoff spot settling for a stalemate in the last game of the season.

As SB Nation points out, the biggest goal for Cleveland, at this point, should be winning out. Yes, it could keep the playoff hopes alive...but more importantly, it gives the Browns a legitimate shot at a winning season one year after going 0-16.

After two years of historic haplessness, to enjoy a turnaround of this magnitude should be both revelatory and vindicating for Browns fans. To even be in the playoff hunt heading into Week 16 is a special feeling. Enjoy it Dawg Pound.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images