Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 11 of the 2021 NFL season.
CBS Sports - No. 18 (down 3 spots)
It’s hard to believe they are down this low. The season has come unglued. They are not a good team right now.
ESPN - No. 14 (down 4 spots)
Most important remaining game: Nov. 28 at Ravens
Despite the up-and-down performances, the Browns are still in the thick of the AFC North race. By knocking off the Ravens in Baltimore on Thanksgiving weekend, the Browns can take control of the North, with a bye week and then a rematch with the Ravens in Cleveland on Dec. 12. Cleveland has not won a division title since 1989. The Browns could took a major step toward doing so with one win — if not two victories — over Baltimore.
NFL.com - No. 12 (down 2 spots)
At some point, we might have to believe what the Browns are telling us: This is an inconsistent team incapable of putting together a sustained stretch of good play. Sunday’s 45-7 loss to the Patriots served as an indictment on both sides of the ball and left players openly questioning the coaching staff’s ability to make adjustments after it was over. The Browns put up a touchdown on their first drive and never scored again. The defense surrendered scoring drives covering 99, 95, 92 and 83 yards. Last place in the tightly packed AFC North is not where Cleveland thought it would be with seven games to go. The disappointment is real.
Sporting News - No. 16 (down 4 spots)
The Browns’ offense can’t carry the team when they’re not running at a high level, so when their defense wilts and doesn’t adjust like it did against the Patriots, they fail to play successful complementary football. Kevin Stefanski and his staff must become more creative in the second half or risk a slide back out of the playoffs.
Yahoo Sports - No. 14 (down 1 spot)
Try to figure out the Browns. Their last three games on offense: 10 points, then 45 against Cincinnati, then 7 on Sunday. The defense has allowed 16 or fewer points in five of 10 games ... but also have allowed 47, 45 and 37 points in losses. How do you make any sense of the Browns?
Bleacher Report - No. 16 (down 3 spots)
Last week, the Cleveland Browns notched perhaps their most impressive win of the season in blowing out the Bengals in Cincinnati. Every bit of momentum the Browns may have built up in that game is gone now, because in Week 10, it was Cleveland’s turn to get blown out. This was one of those games where the best thing the Browns can do with the game tape is burn it. Cleveland drove the length of the field for a touchdown on their first drive and then allowed 45 unanswered points. Cleveland was outgained 452 yards to 217 and converted one third down the entire game.
It gets worse. Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield was already nursing a bad shoulder, but now you can add a knee injury to his list of ailments. However, while Mayfield didn’t return to Sunday’s mauling, head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters after the game that he could have come back were the score not so lopsided.
“Baker’s a competitor,” Stefanski said. “[I] just didn’t feel it was the right thing to put him back out there.”
It was an ugly afternoon all the way around, one that makes it difficult to take these Browns seriously as a contender in the AFC.
USA Today - No. 14 (down 1 spot)
“We never had a chance,” DE Myles Garrett said of the defensive performance in Cleveland’s 45-7 loss at New England. “I mean, we need to be better.” No truer words given six of his next seven games will be against teams with winning records.
Listed below is a summary table of where teams in the AFC North are ranked this week.
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| Bengals | Browns | Ravens | Steelers | |
| CBS Sports | 17 | 18 | 8 | 13 |
| ESPN | 13 | 14 | 9 | 15 |
| NFL.com | 16 | 12 | 10 | 18 |
| Sporting News | 15 | 16 | 8 | 13 |
| Yahoo Sports | 16 | 14 | 8 | 18 |
| Bleacher Report | 13 | 16 | 9 | 12 |
| USA Today | 15 | 14 | 9 | 13 |
| Average | 15.0 (up 0.6) |
14.9 (down 2.3) |
8.7 (down 3.0) |
14.6 (down 1.7) |
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