The Cleveland Browns, a historically bad football team, are so bad they're now being partially blamed for the death of an Ohio man. 

On Wednesday, Paul Stark passed away. On Thursday, his obituary ran in the Sandusky Register. In that obituary, Stark's cause of death is described as "complications from a brief illness," but there's catch: The obituary also claims that his illness was "exacerbated by the hopeless condition of the Cleveland Browns."

The exact wording:

Paul Stark passed away Dec. 27, 2017, of complications from a brief illness, exacerbated by the hopeless condition of the Cleveland Browns, at Stein Hospice, Sandusky.

There's more:

Paul passed just before the Browns were prepared to turn the corner, but had many well-earned blessings. Paul believed in paying it forward, and the goodwill he leaves behind will endure long after he's gone.

If the Browns are turning the corner, they have a funny way of showing it. The Browns entered Week 17 with zero wins, which means they have a chance to complete an 0-16 season against the Steelers on Sunday. If they lose (to the Steelers' backups), they'll have gone 1-31 in the past two seasons. They haven't made the playoffs since 2002. They haven't finished above .500 since 2007. Since the beginning of the 2015 season, they've won four games!

It's not even about the low number of games that they've won. It's more about how they've lost so many of those games in embarrassing fashion. It's about inexplicable failed trades. It's about passing on quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson and Carson Wentz. It's about their handling of rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer. It's about them deciding that Hue Jackson is their 2018 coach even though he's won one game in two seasons.

That being said, a better future could be on the horizon. The Browns have been stockpiling draft picks and they have some nice young players in Corey Coleman, Josh Gordon, and Myles Garrett. They'll have a chance to add to their roster in this year's draft with the No. 1 pick and another high pick. Maybe if they're able to land their future franchise quarterback they'll turn the corner, start playing competitive football, and heck, maybe even save some lives in the process.

One can dream.