ColumbusSports.com

Well, the Browns have made it through the first half of the NFL season after beating Seattle 33-30 in OT on Sunday.  It was a great game in which the Browns beat a very solid team, while moving their current win streak up to three games.  But the real kicker here is that after eight games the Browns are in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

The Browns' victory over Seattle was another crucial step in the continuing maturation of the team.  But it is now time to move past Seattle and the first half of the season.  There are tougher, more important games looming.  Specifically, this Sunday is a chance to better test the growth of the team against the Steelers (not to mention a chance to make amends for the 34-7 thumping the Browns endured at the hands of the Steelers to open the season).  It is also a chance to move into a tie for first place in the AFC North with those same Steelers.

There is no better time to face the task of beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh.  The team is riding a three game winning streak and playing with great confidence.  The offense has become more potent with a healthy Jamal Lewis coming off f a career high four touchdown game against Seattle.  On the other hand, the Steelers are riding high as well after putting a beating on Baltimore in their Monday night game.  But these are the things you have to look forward to and deal with when trying to win the division and/or make the playoffs.

Nobody expected the Browns to make such positive strides so fast, especially after week one this season.  But they have, and by doing so they are a legitimate force in the NFL.   As the season has unfolded and the Browns have put themselves in the position which they now stand, so has the overall importance - throughout the NFL and in the playoff picture - of this Sunday's game.

Tags: cleveland browns