CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns’ Week 4 victory at Baltimore, which lifted them into a first-place tie in the AFC North on Sunday, means only one thing.

See you in Miami in February for Super Bowl LIV.

What, you say? A 40-25 win in the fourth game of the season doesn’t ensure a Super Bowl trip? But if the Browns, in some quarters, were being written off and mocked after going 1-2 in the first three weeks, then the fair reaction the other way has to be, Watch Out, Patrick Mahomes; and Hold Onto Your Sweatshirt, Bill Belichick.

Right? Also, I’d like to apologize for picking the Browns to go 12-4. Clearly that’s going to be wrong.

They’ll be 14-2. Not sure how they’re going to lose again.

Underestimating talent is a tough way to live. I did it with Ohio State this season, but at least my failures were on the record before any games were played. Once the Buckeyes took a few snaps, they showed what they can be. The talent was there, and nothing with a new head coach or new quarterback was holding them back. In fact, that coach and quarterback, Ryan Day and Justin Fields, are revving them up.

The negative assumptions with the Browns arrived after three games were played. Yes, the Browns were out of sync. But Baker Mayfield still ripped throws every now and then. Odell Beckham still busted a huge play every now and then. Nick Chubb still broke tackles every now and then. To dig in on both a Mayfield regression, and the idea of Freddie Kitchens being overwhelmed as a first-year head coach .... those were assumptions based on slivers of fleeting evidence.

To put the Browns in the Super Bowl in September actually makes more sense.

But not actual sense, of course.

What the Browns are is a talented, competitive football team that will continue to improve. They punted their chance at a Week 1 win against Tennessee with crazy penalties; won unimpressively but solidly over the Jets in Week 2; and hung with a Super Bowl team in Week 3 before dooming themselves against the Rams in the red zone.

Meanwhile, Baltimore beat Miami and Arizona in the first two weeks while second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for 596 yards and seven touchdowns ... and some thought he was an MVP candidate.

Meanwhile, Buffalo started 3-0 with wins over the Jets, Giants and Bengals, as second-year quarterback Josh Allen accounted for 285 yards of offense per game, and some were making playoff reservations for Buffalo.

Meanwhile, Mayfield, another second-year quarterback, was fading in the pocket and holding onto the ball, and he also wasn’t playing the Bengals, Cardinals and Dolphins. Although he will get to play them all later -- Dolphins, Cardinals and Bengals twice, just in case this Week 4 win has you eyeballing the schedule again and counting wins.

Mayfield was 20 for 30 for 342 yards with one interception on Sunday as his team scored 40 points.

Jackson was 24 for 34 for 247 yards and two interceptions on Sunday, but 94 of those passing yards came in a meaningless final drive with the game out of reach. He also ran for 66 yards, as his team scored 25 points.

Allen was 13 of 28 for 153 yards and three interceptions before leaving with a head injury, as his team scored 10 points in a 16-10 loss to New England.

Overreactions are what we all do. But for some reason, there was some additional glee for those ready to write the Browns off before we reached October. Instead, the Bengals and Steelers are in freefall, and the Browns are tied with the Ravens atop the division at 2-2, with a win over the Ravens in Baltimore in their pocket. The Browns will probably get those wins over the Cardinals and Dolphins, like the Ravens already have. The Ravens still have to play the Rams, and may very well take a loss like the Browns did --- in case the way the Ravens played Sunday is making you go through their schedule counting losses.

So the Browns are ... the AFC North favorite. The Browns are ... the best team in the division. The Browns are ... 2-2 and headed in the right direction with tough games ahead against San Francisco, Seattle and New England. I’m not counting on 5-2 after that. But no one should be counting on 2-5.

When the Ravens cut the Browns’ lead to six with 10 minutes to play, you knew everyone in orange and brown was getting a little nervous. Then Chubb hit a hole and transported himself to the end zone. Talent is a great way to vanquish nerves and fears, and it should have been a great way to prevent three-game overreactions.

The talent was always there. Still is. Kitchens and Mayfield and the team deserved some criticism during the first three weeks. But this talent never deserved to be counted out.

Week 4 Super Bowl talk is crazy. So was a lot of the talk after Week 3. Let’s call it even, and assume a team with this talent is going to win a lot more games.

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