Browns’ simple goal: Rain on fan’s 0-16 parade plans

Two games stand between Cleveland, dubious history.

Coach Hue CLEVELAND —

Jackson desperately wants to help the Browns avoid an 0-16 season and stop the per- fectly pathetic parade that would ensue.

At 0-14 for the second con- secutive year, the Browns have two chances left — at the Chicago Bears (4-10) on Sunday and at the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3) on Dec. 31 — to dodge a winless season. Only the 2008 Detroit Lions have gone 0-16.

On the heels of Sunday’s 27-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the home finale at FirstEnergy Stadium, Jack- son said he’ll talk to his players about fighting to escape dubious history.

“I will talk to them, but I think our players know,” Jackson said Monday. “We don’t want to go in the record books that way by any stretch. Nobody does. We didn’t set out for this to happen this way. This is football. This is the way things go when things are not going well for you.

“So we’ve got to do everything we can on our part over the next two weeks and our whole organization is trying to do everything possible to make sure we come away with some victories here. We’ve had some chances and haven’t been able to secure them. We’ve got two more oppor- tunities and we’re going to give it everything we have.”

If the Browns don’t deliver a victory, a group of fans is scheduled to hold a parade to bask in the misery.

“They’re entitled to do what they want,” said Jack- son, who’s 1-29 as the coach of the Browns. “They have true passion about the Browns and we really appreciate that. We haven’t been good enough. Let’s just be honest. That’s where we are.

“So everyone in our organization is working extremely hard to make sure that there’s not a parade. But we have to uphold our end of it and make sure thatwe’re winning. So I get it. Would it be disappointing if they had one? Yes. But at the same time, I do get it. We just haven’t been good enough to get all that kind of talk stopped.”

For the second year in a row, Browns fan Chris McNeil has organized a parade around FirstEnergy Stadium to sarcastically commemorate an 0-16 season. Should the Browns lose their final two games, the “Perfect Season Parade 2.0” would begin at noon Jan. 6.

Like Jackson, Browns players hope to derail the parade.

“I’m big on people can do whatever they want,” Browns center JC Tretter said. “I hope we, as a group, ruin what they’re planning, but people are entitled to their own opinions and whatever they want to do and celebrate. I might not be a fan of it, but it doesn’t offend me. I’m not easily offended. So they can plan whatever they want, but I hope we ruin it.”

Two weeks ago, Excedrin committed to donating $7,683 to complete the $10,000 fundraising effort for parade costs McNeil launched with a GoFundMe account. On the parade’s Facebook page, 9,483 people said they were interested as of Monday afternoon and another 2,516 said they would go.

■ Starting strong safety Derrick Kindred may be forced to miss time with a wrist injury he suffered Sunday, Jackson said.

■ The Browns aren’t planning to shut down starting cornerback Jamar Taylor with the right foot injury that kept him from playing defense Sunday.