The Cleveland Browns finally have a winning season.
Behind a first-half performance unparalleled in franchise history, Cleveland defeated the Titans 41-35 to move to 9-3, clinching its first winning record in 13 years.
Since rejoining the NFL in 1999, the Browns have posted only two winning seasons, with the other coming in 2002, the last time Cleveland advanced to the playoffs.
Sunday in Tennessee, the Browns took another big step toward snapping the league’s longest postseason drought. Spearheaded by quarterback Baker Mayfield, Cleveland scored 38 points in the first half, breaking the franchise record for points in a first half (35, set in 2004).
Mayfield also had a standout half, becoming the first Browns quarterback since Otto Graham in 1951 to pass for four touchdowns in a first half.
Mayfield completed 12 of his first 14 passes, with one of the incompletions coming on a drop on the opening drive by Donovan Peoples-Jones, which would’ve given Mayfield five touchdown throws in the half.
The Browns haven’t been 9-3 since 1994, when they finished the regular season 11-5 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Following a losing record a year later, then-owner Art Modell relocated the franchise to Baltimore and renamed it the Ravens.
The Browns next face the Ravens at home Dec. 14 on Monday Night Football. Cleveland lost to Baltimore in the season opener 38-6. With a victory, Cleveland would boast its best record in 51 years.