CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Since the NFL expanded to 32 teams and split into eight divisions, 109 teams between 2002-18 started the season 2-4.

Ten made the playoffs. That’s 9.2 percent. That’s 9.2 percent that the Browns and the seven other teams currently 2-4 are counting on.

There’s some in-house hope for the Browns in that one of those 10 teams was the 2002 Browns, who started 2-4 under Butch Davis, went 7-3 the rest of the way, and at 9-7 won a tiebreaker for a wild card spot. There’s some other in-house hope in John Dorsey, who was the GM of one of the only two teams since 2002 to start 1-5 and make the playoffs -- the 2015 Kansas City Chiefs.

Dorsey, during a bye week assessment with reporters Wednesday in which he repeatedly talked about how much of the season was ahead, said the Chiefs coaches in 2015 made the right off week adjustments that he assumes the Browns coaches are making now.

“It also took those men in that locker room,” Dorsey said. “They had a chance to self-reflect and understand, ‘OK, I have to do a better job on my part.’ I think this team will do that. They have four days now to really self-reflect and say, ‘OK, we have 10 games left in this thing.’

"It’s all in front of us in terms of our goals. Our goal is to win the AFC North. We have said that. Now we have five home games and five divisional games. Let’s go for it.”

It’s possible. On the bright side, a 2-4 record (9.2 percent playoffs) is quite a bit more playoff-friendly than a 1-5 record (3.2 percent playoffs) and 0-6 record (zero percent). So let’s look at the 10 teams since 2002 that did reach the postseason after a 2-4 start, and see where the Browns can draw inspiration.

• 2016 Miami Dolphins, finished 10-6: The offense got rolling with another person who could provide some in-house hope to these Browns -- Jarvis Landry, Miami’s leading receiver that season. Actually, the Dolphins started spreading the ball around more, with Landry averaging 6.8 receptions in the 2-4 start and 5.3 receptions in the 8-2 finish. It happened under first-year coach Adam Gase, so maybe first-year Browns coach Freddie Kitchens can take some solace.

• 2015 Seattle Seahawks, finished 10-6: This was a Russell Wilson revival. The Seahawks scored at least 29 points in seven of their last eight games. In his last seven games, Wilson threw 24 touchdowns and just one interception. Note to Baker Mayfield -- get hot.

• 2015 Washington Redskins, finished 9-7: Does “You like that?” mean anything to you? Kirk Cousins’ famous postgame outburst after Washington’s 31-30 win over Tampa in Game 7 was the start of it all. Washington was 2-4. The Redskins won that game after rallying from a 24-0 deficit and Cousins shouted that in a postgame hallway. A 7-3 finish won the Redskins the NFC East. Might be time for another Browns catch phrase.

• 2015 Houston Texans, finished 9-7: Defense rules. In the second half of the season, the Texans played five games in which they held the opponent to exactly six points. They won all five games. J.J. Watt led the league with 17.5 sacks and won his third Defensive Player of the Year award. Note to Myles Garrett -- keep sacking.

• 2011 Denver Broncos, finished 8-8: This was Tim Tebow’s one big NFL season. He took over as the starting quarterback in Week 5, replacing Kyle Orton, and won seven of his first eight starts. No QB change is ahead for the Browns, but Denver did use its bye week to regroup. The Broncos were 1-4 before their break. The Browns are 2-4. Also, a lousy division helps. The Broncos won a three-way 8-8 tiebreaker with the Chargers and Chiefs to take the division title. The AFC North could be headed for something like that.

• 2008 Miami Dolphins, finished 11-5: Another first-year coach did it in Miami, with Tony Sparano leading Miami to the AFC East title. Again, you don’t need Bill Belichick as the boss to bounce back.

• 2004 Green Bay Packers, finished 10-6: Brett Favre got hot. After a 1-4 start, the Packers won six straight as Favre moved past some early-season inaccuracy. Hmm.

• 2002 Tennessee Titans, finished 11-5: After a 1-4 start, the Titans handed the ball to Eddie George 24 times per game over the final 11 games and went 10-1, the only loss coming by one point. If the Browns need to run to win in the second half, with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, they’re set up to do that.

• 2002 New York Jets, finished 9-7: Chad Pennington was the quarterback for this team, as he was for the 2008 Dolphins. If he can lead 2-4 teams back from the brink twice, certainly Mayfield can do it once.

• 2002 Cleveland Browns, finished 9-7: Remember -- the last time the Browns made the playoffs, the season started just as this one has. After a 17-3 loss at Tampa Bay dropped the Browns to 2-4, the coverage of the team had them teetering on the edge of a lost season. Stories described the Browns as starting the season with swagger and losing it with an offense that was too conservative and didn’t trust Tim Couch.

Coach Butch Davis after that loss was talking about expansion in the fourth year of the Browns’ restart and setting up excuses in case the season got away. Players in the postgame locker were seething about being tired of losing. The team seemed on the verge of breaking apart.

Instead, they went 7-3. They won late with last-second drives and goal-line stands. They beat Atlanta in the last game of the season after Couch broke his leg in the second quarter.

“I’m convinced we earned this playoff berth because our players never quit fighting,” Davis said after the playoffs were assured.

Yes, there are some lessons there for these Browns -- 2-4 to the playoffs isn’t easy. But it’s certainly not impossible.

More Browns coverage

Austin Corbett was one of two worst Browns draft picks in 20 years

Browns get fifth-round pick for Austin Corbett

Browns GM John Dorsey admits mistake by Tuesday's trade

WR Rashard Higgins says he's surprised by staying on sidelines vs. Seattle

Kitchens: Mayfield will be ready for the Patriots

Will the Browns be able to overcome 2-4 start for playoff run?

Takes By The Lake podcast -- the ongoing Mayfield accuracy question

Why didn't Rashard Higgins play on Sunday? Berea Report (video)

Rookie LB Mack Wilson learning on the fly as a starter

Offensive line coach James Campen: 'We need to do more'

Everything Freddie Kitchens said on Tuesday to the media