The Cleveland Browns had been excluded from any meaningful NFL conversation over the past two years. A select group of players and coaches were able to alter the team's fortunes during the second half of the season when they went 5-3 against a tough part of their schedule. Those successes, although meaningless in regards to the playoff hunt in hindsight, have Cleveland optimistic entering the off-season.

Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield revealed the moment that he felt the team had truly turned the corner in this league. It was Week 9 at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs led 21-15 at halftime before stretching out a final score of 37-21.

“I felt like we had them in the first half. It was really close. We just had a few plays not go our way. Just to see we were competing at that time, the Chiefs were on a roll. Looking back on it, we realized at that point we have something here," Mayfield said during an interview with ESPN's 'NFL Live' via ClevelandBrowns.com.

“That point in the season was really fun.”