Detroit Lions

Browns linebacker guarantees Cleveland won't go 0-16

Published Nov. 7, 2016 9:44 a.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

Only once in NFL history has a team gone 0-16, losing every single one of their games in a single season. The Cleveland Browns are in grave danger of joining those 2008 Detroit Lions as the second 0-16 team of all time.

At 0-9, the Browns are already more than halfway there. And looking at their upcoming schedule, getting a win will be difficult. They still have to face the Steelers twice, as well as the Ravens, Giants and Bills. The only two teams below .500 on their remaining slate are the Chargers (4-5) and Bengals (3-4-1). Their best chance at a win is probably against the Chargers, but even that won't be easy.

Sunday’s game against the Cowboys was especially bad, with the Browns losing 35-10. The loss wasn’t enough to deter one player’s confidence that the Browns will indeed win a game this season.

"We're not going to go 0-16,'' linebacker Chris Kirksey said, via Cleveland.com. "That's for a fact. We're not doing that. Things are going to get on a roll, and we've just got to keep fighting."

The Browns, fighting for their winless lives, are using the big, fat zero in the win column as motivation to get their first victory. Why? Because there’s nothing worse in the NFL than going 0-16.

"That's motivation,'' he said. "I don't know if I'm supposed to say this, but we're not going winless. We're not."

The Browns aren’t your typical winless team, though. They’ve fought hard in every game this season, coming close to a few victories. They should have beat the Dolphins in Week 3 but Cody Parkey missed what would have been a game-winner from 46 yards out. They also had a good shot at beating the Titans a few weeks ago, as well as the Jets in Week 8, but the wins eluded them in heartbreaking fashion.

The Browns are the youngest team in the NFL, having 18 rookies on the roster. Their struggles are understandable as they go through a rebuilding process, but going 0-16 would be seriously disheartening for the youthful bunch.