The Cleveland Browns are 0-1 on the season, but the upstart AFC North franchise may very well be the best winless team in the league as it stands today. The Browns had arguably the toughest test in all of Week 1 as Cleveland was forced to travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Granted, the Dallas Cowboys had to open the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Still, any time that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in the mix, it will be a very long day. However, the Browns did about as good of a job slowing down the always dangerous AFC West franchise as humanly possible, but there is only one team that beats the Chiefs — and that's the Chiefs.

Although moral victories won't get you very far in today's NFL, the Browns still have a bright outlook for the rest of 2021-22.

Browns Takeaways vs. Chiefs 

The Cleveland Browns are one of the top teams in the AFC 

Despite losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, the competitiveness and grit that the Cleveland Browns showed on the road on Sunday afternoon surely inserts them in the conversation regarding the top teams in the AFC this season.

The Browns do indeed play in arguably the toughest division in the NFL alongside the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, which will frequently pit Cleveland against the best of the best through the regular season. Even so, the Browns will also have the opportunity to gain wins over some serious competition in the coming weeks as the team's Week 1 loss to a very, very good Chiefs team shouldn't derail head coach Kevin Stefanski and company one bit. In fact, Week 1's loss only solidified that the Browns can hang with the top tier in the AFC this time around.

Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield deserves a long-term contract

The Cleveland Browns have yet to commit to former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick in Baker Mayfield as the team's quarterback of the future. However, Mayfield has continued to improve under the direction of second-year NFL head coach Kevin Stefanski. At the same time, it already appears that the former Heisman Trophy winner will be taking yet another step in the right direction in 2021-22. Mayfield was in complete control of the Cleveland offense on Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium while going toe to toe with the Kansas City Chiefs and future Pro Football Hall of Fame signal-caller Patrick Mahomes. Not only that, though, but Mayfield made all of the routine throws appear to be just that while making some super difficult throws look way too easy.

While it may take a few more weeks for Mayfield to truly solidify himself as the Browns' quarterback of the future, it is already quite evident that he is trending in such a direction — even after just one week of the 2021-22 regular season. It is also worth noting that the Browns are currently without superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. as the former New York Giants standout missed the team's Week 1 matchup against the Chiefs due to his recovery from a significant leg injury suffered last season.

Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb can carry an offense

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is sometimes asked to split carries with former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt, who serves as a passing-down back while giving his counterpart a breather on occasion. While Hunt is undoubtedly a formidable NFL running back, he is not quite at the level of Chubb at the present moment.

Although Chubb needs to remain healthy while curbing his fumbling issues, the Browns standout in the backfield proved time and time against the Kansas City Chiefs exactly why he is one of the best running backs in the entire league. Chubb can run between the tackles, hit a burst of speed outside, and even catch passes when called upon. Because of his strength, versatility and ability to find the end zone, the Browns need to continue to lean on Chubb despite the litany of weapons at quarterback Baker Mayfield's disposal along the outside. With the Browns presumably welcoming back another star wideout in Odell Beckham Jr. sooner rather than later, giving the team an insane amount of options spread throughout the field, Chubb can be relied upon even more as teams won't be able to stack the box on defense.