CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It is OK to pick the Browns to dominate another team?
The inclination when predicting the Browns to win for the first time in 19 games is to suspect them to eke out a victory against an opponent who has as many or more questions than the Browns.
But that, in my mind, is treating the Browns like they're different than the other 31 teams in the NFL, believing that they are burdened by their past failures, or somehow suffering under the onus of freeing beer refrigerators with chains on them.
What if the Jets are just a lousy team hitting the road on the short week with a rookie quarterback, a team whose 1-1 record is propped up by a week one smothering of an overmatched Detroit team coached by an overmatched Bill Belichick knockoff?
The Browns would have beaten the Lions, also. The Jets would have lost to the Steelers.
The Browns lost at New Orleans on a day when their kicker made nothing. The Jets lost at home to Miami on a day when their kicker made 41- and 55-yard field goals to help make the game respectable after the Jets trailed 20-0 at the half.
The Browns are better than the Jets, at home, with a veteran QB instead of rookie. Myles Garrett was controlled by the Saints last week, but he'll have a chance to get after Jets left tackle Kelvin Beachum, who struggled against Miami's Robert Quinn at times last week.
By Football Outsiders metrics, both teams feature offenses that have struggled and defenses ranked in the top-10 of the league. The idea with this pick isn't to set up the coaching staff or quarterback for criticism, but if Todd Haley and Hue Jackson can't scheme up a way to attack the Jets, and if Tyrod Taylor can't make some throws that matter, then, yeah, they should be criticized.
Because the Browns are just another team this season, a team in the bottom third fighting to climb toward the middle. Sure, they have some injuries. But they also have Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi and Denzel Ward, a solid offensive line and running back options and Jarvis Landry.
So yes, the Browns should win. The Jets are the bad team here. The Browns should be able to take advantage of that. It's just football. Normal football.
Browns 27, Jets 13.