Christmas is less than a week away and the Cleveland Browns are on the right path to make the playoffs. A 9-5 record has them occupying the AFC's No. 5 playoff spot ahead of a Week 16 meeting with the Houston Texans, leaving time to tell if Browns fans will have even more to celebrate on Christmas Eve.
Speaking of the holidays, you can bet that Santa Claus has been keeping a keen eye on the Browns this season. While several players deserve gifts for keeping the team's postseason dreams alive, others should wake up to some coal for holding Cleveland back from its true potential.
Here's a look at three Browns who are on Santa's Nice List this year, as well as two who have landed on the Naughty List.
Nice List #1: Joe Flacco
There's no denying that Joe Flacco has breathed new life into the Browns' offense.
Before the 38-year-old quarterback made his season debut in Week 13, Cleveland was only averaging 181.2 passing yards per game — sixth-fewest in the NFL. But since Flacco secured the starting QB job, the Browns are averaging 298.3 passing yards, which is the third-most during that stretch.
Flacco has finished with 254-plus passing yards in each start, which includes tallying at least 311 in the last two. While his five interceptions indicate that he hasn't been perfect, his seven TD passes are just two fewer than Deshaun Watson, P.J. Walker, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson combined for in 11 starts.
If the Browns were still forced to start Walker and DTR, there's a decent chance they might be out of the playoff race. Fortunately, Flacco's presence has helped avoid that due to his solid play on the field and the leadership he's shown in the locker room.
Assuming he ends the season on a high note, Flacco is well-deserving of his spot in Browns lore, as well as on the Nice List.
Nice List #2: Kareem Hunt/Jerome Ford
You can make the argument that this is technically cheating, but Kareem Hunt and Jerome Ford deserve to share a spot on the Nice List.
The Browns' backfield was dealt a massive blow in Week 2 when superstar running back Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury. Due to Chubb being one of the best RBs on the planet and Cleveland's run-first mentality, it isn't shocking that a lot of doubters wrote the team off.
Instead, Hunt (who didn't join the roster until Sept. 20) and Jerome Ford (a 2022 fifth-rounder) have stepped up to fill Chubb's void.
Hunt — who also spent the four previous seasons with the Browns — leads the team with seven rushing TDs (his most since 2018) this season with each score coming on a red-zone touch. His 3.1 rushing yards per carry are a career-low, however, that's ignorable due to his counterpart's productivity.
After averaging 1.5 yards on eight carries as a rookie, Ford has taken a massive step forward. The former Cincinnati Bearcat has turned 174 carries into 718 rushing yards (4.1 per attempt) and three touchdowns while hauling in 39 receptions for another 238 yards and three more scores.
Without Hunt or Ford, the Browns' season would've likely been over weeks ago. That alone is more than deserving of Nice List status.
Nice List #3: Myles Garrett
Myles Garrett has been one of the NFL's best defenders since debuting in 2017 and the current season has only solidified his elite status.
After finishing fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2022, Garrett picked up from where he left off. The four-time All-Pro defender leads the Browns with 13.0 sacks (8.5 more than the next player) while also tallying 27 solo tackles, 14 tackles for lost yardage, four forced fumbles, three defended passes, and 26 QB hits.
Additionally, Garrett is a top-10 player when it comes to QB knockdowns (6th) and pressures (10th). He also leads all edge players when it comes to overall defensive grade (93.5) and pass rush (94.4) on Pro Football Focus.
As a result of another dominating performance, Garrett only trails the Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons when it comes to the NFL Defensive Player of the Year race on FanDuel Sportsbook. As long as Garrett continues his play, Santa just might bring him DPOY honors as a late Christmas gift.
Naughty List #1: P.J. Walker
Flacco may have saved the Browns' season, but it's hard not to wonder where the team would be if P.J. Walker hadn't stunk up the joint during his time as the starter.
With Watson dealing with injuries throughout the campaign, Cleveland often turned to Walker for relief. Unfortunately, it didn't take long to prove that he's not exactly an NFL quarterback. The former XFL passing yards leader struggled through his six appearances (2 starts), completing just 48.6% of passes for 674 yards with one touchdown to five interceptions.
Furthermore, Walker's 52.2 passer rating ranks fifth-worst among 54 qualified quarterbacks.
While the Browns "only" went 1-1 in his two starts, Walker's poor play forced the team to start Thompson-Robinson three times, going 1-2 in those appearances. Had the 28-year-old veteran played more efficiently, Cleveland wouldn't have had to force DTR into a situation he wasn't prepared to face.
Even though Walker's struggles eventually led to the Browns landing Flacco, the former still deserves coal this Christmas for the endless headaches he caused.
Naughty List #2: Elijah Moore
The Browns acquired wideout Elijah Moore from the New York Jets back in March. Cleveland clearly had high hopes for the ex-Mississippi product or else it wouldn't have sent a 2023 second-round selection back to New York.
It's understandable why the Browns took the risk. Their passing game was among the worst in 2022, so pairing Moore alongside Amari Cooper was supposed to help rejuvenate the aerial attack. Even though he was coming off a sophomore slump, Moore is still someone who was on pace for over 830 yards and around eight TDs as a rookie two seasons ago.
Instead, the 23-year-old wideout has been largely unimpressive this season. While he's already tallied a career-high 560 receiving yards, his 10.8 yards per reception and 55.3% catch percentage are both the worst marks of his career. He's also only hit the 50-yard mark three times in 14 games and averages just 33.0 receiving yards at home compared to 49.3 on the road.
Moore is signed through the 2024 campaign with a $1.8 million cap hit, so hopefully landing on the Naughty List this year motivates him to come back better than ever next fall.
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