The Cleveland Browns are better than the Detroit Lions. And it's scary

Carlos Monarrez Detroit Free Press

Published 10:44 AM EDT Sep 21, 2018

I am about to propose a thought. It’s a scary thought. So prepare yourself.

The Cleveland Browns are better than the Lions.

Yes, the team that went 0-16 last year is better than the Lions. The team that went 1-31 the past two years and still kept its head coach is better than the Lions.

The Browns had a breakout game Thursday night, when they beat the visiting New York Jets, 21-17, and won their first game in 635 days. Baker Mayfield became Baker Mayfield and finally saved coach Hue Jackson from himself by being forced to enter the game when starter Tyrod Taylor left with a concussion.

Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick this year who is as colorful as he is talented, ignited the Browns, who are now 1-1-1. But they should be 2-0-1 and they easily could be 3-0-0 if not for the football gods having a rapper-level feud with kicker Zane Gonzalez.

I don’t believe in a strict transitive property when it comes to football, because teams can quickly get better and worse from week to week. But if you’re a Lions fan, you have to be thinking about the Jets, the Browns and how this relates to your team.

The J-E-T-S embarrassed the Lions in a Monday night season opener at Ford Field and made Sam Darnold look like the second coming of Joe Namath. Since then, Darnold has thrown four interceptions and one touchdown in two losses and looks like the second coming of Mark Sanchez.

This is the team that blew out the Lions and extinguished all excitement for the season? This is the team that just lost to Anthony Zettel and the Browns?

The Lions are about to fall to 0-3 and look like they’re on a perilous and inevitable slide toward 0-5.

The Browns? They might be playoff-bound behind Mayfield. Kansas City and Tampa Bay look like the only unwinnable games on their schedule. And they might even win the AFC North, thanks to the implosion in Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, fans and media have launched Detroit CIS and are using microscopes, carbon dating and diving rods to figure out where in the schedule the Lions might win their next game.

The Vontae Award

Vontae Davis is a man for our time. I, for one, applaud the decision by the former Buffalo Bills cornerback to quit at halftime of last week’s game. More people, in and out of the sports world, should follow Davis’ lead to the exit. When it ain’t right, take a hike.

I’d like to announce an award I’ll be giving out periodically: The Vontae.

I’ll be taking suggestions for this award, so send me your worthy candidates. Anyone and anything in sports is eligible.

Vontae’s rating: ½ out of 10. Vontae’s spirit animal: A retracting snail.

Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

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