Logan Hylek

    Who’s better, the Lions or the Browns? Of course, everyone is going to say the Lions. First, Matt Patricia is the Lions’ coach, savior, and leader. Patricia spent 14 years with the New England Patriots, winning three super bowl rings. How many rings does Hue Jackson have? Patricia has just as many super bowl rings as Jackson has WINS in his 3 years with the Browns.

   Matthew Stafford. That’s all I have to say. Even though the record doesn’t reflect it,  Stafford is one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL. Stafford averages almost 4,000 yards per season, and 36,134 passing yards in just nine seasons and the five games they have played this year. That is more than both Brett Favre and Joe Montana, two of the best quarterbacks of all time, had in their first ten seasons. To continue, this is Stafford’s tenth year in the league and this is just Mayfield’s rookie year. Baker is a good QB, but the experience Stafford has gives both him and the Lions a big advantage.

   The lions also have the advantage at the kicking position with Matt Prater, one of best kickers in the league. Prater has a 98% extra point percentage, making 402 out of 410 extra points in his career. Prater is 255 for 307 with a 83% field goal percentage, and  Prater has the NFL record for longest field goal ever made at 64 yards.

    So far the Lions have played the Jets, 49ers, Patriots, Cowboys, and the Packers, and have a 2-3 record. The Jets are a team on the rise with a 3-3 record, third in the AFC east. The Jets are behind 4-2 dolphins and arguably one of the best teams in the NFL,  the Patriots, which the Lions played and beat the Patriots and also play the Dolphins week seven. Now the 49ers are probably the worst team the Lions have faced so far this year, with a 1-5 record. The Packers are in the Lions division making it an important game each year twice a year, the Lions won the first of two meetings on the year. The rest of the year the Lions will only play two games against teams that are not the best or second best teams in their conference,and will also be playing the Los Angeles Rams, who have the best record at 6-0 so far. All in all, the Lions have a pretty tough schedule, making this season more of a challenge for them.

   Even though the Lions aren’t having the best season and the Browns actually won a game for once, the Lions still have the better team and coaching staff, along with playing in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL.

Ethan Irish

   This season could not have started better for the Cleveland Browns. This year already is the best start to a season for the Browns since 2014 at 2-3-1. In the past two years, the team has put up horrifying numbers, not only shown  in their record, but in their stats as well. Since 1999, the Cleveland Browns have had 30 quarterbacks, but in the 2018 draft the organization took a chance on another quarterback.

   This past draft, they took Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma University. In my opinion, Mayfield was the best quarterback in the draft class of last year, and has proven thus far that he can start for an NFL team. He has given the Browns hope to have a fantastic season compared to recent years. Through the five games that he has played with the Browns so far, he has led them to their first win in 635 days. To go along with that win, Baker also won his first career NFL start as a Brown against the Baltimore Ravens with the final score being 12-9.

   Also, in this past draft, the Browns selected running back Nick Chubb from the University of Georgia. To add on to their other running back, Duke Johnson Jr. They had a third running back in Carlos Hyde but he was recently traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Chubb was part of an outstanding Georgia team and I can see him progressing into a great NFL running back. In addition to this, there is an argument that the running backs from the Browns is better than the trio of Theo Riddick, Legarrette Blount, and Kerryon Johnson for the Lions. Although Johnson is better than the Browns three running backs individually; overall, the Browns have a better running attack.

   On the defensive side of the ball, the Browns have fantastic young talent such as Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, and Emmanuel Ogbah. After the first two games this season, the Browns were ninth in sack percentage, compared to last year being at 20th after two games. The ferocious defense of the Browns this year will lead them to having a better season and  a better team than the Lions.

   Although the Lions have a fantastic receiving core with Kenny Golladay, Golden Tate, and Marvin Jones Jr., with Matthew Stafford as quarterback, the Lions still always seem to find a way to lose. Cleveland is known for losing, but with Mayfield now being there with what everyone knows he can bring to the table, Cleveland has the slight edge. With the talent that Baker has, he also brings a winning mentality to the team, which is very much needed for the organization. At Oklahoma, he went 34-6 as a starter, beating top tier teams in the nation. He also had a touchdown to interception rate of 119-21. Baker is just what the Browns needed this season and makes them better than the Lions.