Do you all remember when Hue Jackson said he’d jump in Lake Erie if the Cleveland Browns went 1-15 again in 2017 like they did last year? We sure as heck do.
Jackson’s quickly running out of time to live up to his promise he’d never engineer that level of futility again.
In fact, at this point it’s akin to Jeff Fisher infamously saying the Los Angeles Rams wouldn’t go 7-9 again in 2016. Just like Fisher being “right” about Los Angeles not going 7-9 (the Rams went 4-12), Jackson’s Browns are in grave danger of not even living up to their shining 1-15 record from a year ago.
Cleveland has just two games left to save Jackson from having to live up to his promise and take a jump in Lake Erie this winter, and/or save him from chickening out on his promise. Both of the team’s final two games will take place on the road, which only makes this task all the more improbable.
First, the Browns will be in the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears in Week 16. Given Chicago’s defense, DeShone Kizer could be in for one of his famously awful performances, though we suspect the game will be hard fought between the two poorly-coached teams.
Then in Week 17, the Browns will be at Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, who’ll potentially be fighting to claim the No. 1 seed in the AFC. In any case, we don’t expect Cleveland to win this game, especially given how hot Pittsburgh’s offense has been in the second half of the season.
With that in mind, Jackson is likely going to have a tough decision at the end of the season. Because even if the Browns do manage to win against Chicago, there’s no way they’re winning out to finish 2014.
And we’ve heard Lake Erie is awfully cold this time of year. Thankfully, Jackson never promised he wouldn’t wear a wet suit.