Browns Reject Concept Of Controlling Own Playoff Destiny: 'Everything Is Chaos'

CLEVELAND—The Cleveland Browns, although 8-4 going into Week 13 and needing only to win two of their last three games independent of the win/loss record of other AFC teams, rejected the idea that they or anyone else could actually control their own destiny in a chaotic universe. “The cosmos tends towards greater entropy, as man tends towards ever more destructive tendencies and the AFC North tends towards the passing game, and the only constant in our mutable world is change—we cannot afford the illusion of control,” said head coach Romeo Crennel, who buried his face in his hands and shook throughout his existentially terrifying Tuesday press conference. “Our playbook, like the books of our very lives, is writ on water; we die a little every day on the field and off, and each step we take brings us closer to ruin and heartbreak, if not the goal line; and also, regardless of the outcome against Buffalo, we really need either the Titans or the Broncos to lose at least one game.” Quarterback Derek Anderson echoed his coach’s outlook, saying he planned to “just heave the ball up and, although not praying, watch in mixed hope and terror as the incalculable probabilities play themselves out downfield” against opposing secondaries for the rest of the season.