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Cleveland Browns in the hunt for the playoffs? It’s true

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 09: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after a 26-20 win over the Carolina Panthers at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 9, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Credit: Gregory Shamus

Credit: Gregory Shamus

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 09: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after a 26-20 win over the Carolina Panthers at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 9, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Sports
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Dec 10, 2018
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The Browns started 2-6-1 but a 3-1 stretch has Cleveland (5-7-1) hanging onto playoff hopes with three weeks go to in the NFL season.

The inconsistencies of the Steelers (7-5-1) and Ravens (7-6) along with the collapse of the Bengals (5-8) has helped, of course, but it’s still remarkable considering the team won four games over the previous three seasons.

>>RELATED: Browns outlast Panthers | Bengals come up short against Chargers

According to CBSSports.com, the Browns are 11th in the AFC entering Week 15 so they have a lot of work to do and would need a lot of help to jump over the Colts, Dolphins, Titans, Ravens and Broncos in the wild card race, but they remain alive nonetheless.

(So do the Bengals, surprisingly enough, despite a five-game losing streak.)

The AFC North is still technically in play for Cleveland, too, but they would have to win out and see the Steelers lose out for that to remain the case.

The Ravens, who will play at Cleveland in the season finale, are still in the mix, too.

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Marcus Hartman has been a digital sports columnist and reporter at Cox's Ohio newspapers the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal-News since 2016.