The Cleveland Browns aren’t supposed to be a Super Bowl contender in 2016, and that was driven home again in Week 3. The Browns suffered an excruciating 30-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins in overtime and, over the course of the game, Cleveland missed a potential game-winning field goal in regulation and deferred after winning the coin toss prior to the extra period (Miami didn’t score on the first possession, so the decision kind of worked, but Cleveland still lost, so).
Browns wide receiver (and part-time quarterback) Terrelle Pryor apparently missed the memo that the Browns aren’t a top-flight NFL team, though, as he issued this noteworthy quote after Cleveland’s third consecutive loss.
#Browns Pryor: "I feel like we have one of the best teams in the #NFL we just have to find a way to win"
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 25, 2016
On the bright side for Pryor, he actually performed quite well in the game, becoming just the third NFL player since 1960 to compile more than 20 yards receiving, rushing and passing in the same contest. Still, this is a quote that plays perfectly on the internet as ammunition to poke fun at the Browns organization, as it arrives with such optimism in advance of what almost always is a disastrous ending.
Pryor isn’t supposed to be realistic about Cleveland’s chances to compete on the grandest of scales, but in the same breath, he probably shouldn’t be including his team as “one of the best teams in the NFL” until further notice. It’s just the safe way to operate for anyone employed by the Browns.