I feel like a broken record at this point, but here it is again: the Cleveland Browns played and lost another sloppy game at home.

A solid first half of football against the formidable Seattle Seahawks was followed up by another turnover-filled effort from Cleveland, and even so, the Browns only lost 32-28.

Passes bouncing out of the hands of receivers, an interception in the red zone for the second consecutive week, and a myriad of mishaps Browns fans have been accustomed to so far this season were once again the story Sunday afternoon. Now standing at 2-4, the Browns will march into Foxborough looking to do the impossible and upset Tom Terrific and his merry men of Patriots. But with 2-5 on the horizon, many are already counting the NFL’s lovable losers out again for the year, just not as early as usual.

Fortunately for Cleveland, once they jettison out of New England, their schedule eases dramatically, including two Bengal matchups, a stop in Arizona, and two home games against Miami and the already once slain Ravens. Aside from the Pats on the 27th the remaining games that look to be less favorable are the two Steeler games, that should promise spirited efforts from both sides, and the Bills, who are quietly 4-1 thus far.

A bye-week couldn’t come at a better time for the Browns and Baker Mayfield, who turned the ball over four times Sunday in response to the man-handling they were given by San Francisco last Monday (which I had the great honor of witnessing live and in person).

I don’t think we can bestow one singular honor of blame for the undisciplined product continuing to show itself once a week. Some people blame Baker’s decision making as a whole, others point to the play calling of Freddie Kitchens and his staff. However you want to slice it, this is a team with lots of talent losing winnable games on a regular basis. The 180 penalty yard loss to the Titans remains the game I hold as the most brutal; if they hadn’t handed that game away, they’d be .500 and in much better shape for a run to the playoffs.

So, as the aforementioned bye-week provides some much needed relief, there’s still plenty of reasons not to jump ship just yet.

Like I said, this team’s got lots of offensive talent just waiting to reach its full potential. We still haven’t seen the best of what the duo of longtime buds Jarvis Landry and OBJ can do. Nick Chubb continues to be a revelation, and Ricky Seals-Jones has been a pleasant surprise at TE in replacement of David Njoku. The Browns are also still waiting for Kareem Hunt’s return, and who knows how the hell that’ll go, but if it goes right, having both him and Chubb complement one another down the stretch would be high-value.

Also, again, this team’s schedule lightens drastically, especially in comparison to Baltimore’s, who they’ll be aiming to catch. The Steelers are without Big Ben, but they’ve made a living hassling the Browns so expect them to not lie down and make things easy either.

The defensive has had its share of injuries and question marks as well, but can it get better with health? Up until this point, its been serviceable at best.

The biggest concerns remain on the offensive end: can Baker and Kitchens clean up their mistakes? Can the offensive line give Baker some protection so they can make those necessary adjustments? Who knows.

We’re still talking about the Cleveland freakin’ Browns after all. So it’s in our nature to always expect the worst.

But after New England, the Browns are set up to make a push. Let’s see if they do it, or they start putting their finishing touches on yet another maddening year of Cleveland Browns football.