In what’s becoming a familiar Labor Day refrain on the shores of Lake Erie, the Cleveland Browns are facing a win-now season. In the modern-day NFL, a team can only have a few of these before the championship window closes. These Browns are getting long in the tooth. Their offensive stars are approaching 30, and keeping the window open has put a salary cap armageddon on the horizon.
In the shorter term, what the Browns truly need is some good luck with the injuries this season. Last year, they had something like a third of their team on injured reserve and yet managed to finish 11-6 and make the playoffs. In 2024, the team has augmented the quarterback room with Jameis Winston but returns the same thin running backs corps. The offensive line is still banged up, and two defensive starters didn’t even make it through the first week of camp. Yet, the team does seem to be getting healthier a little more than a week before the season kicks off.
With that in mind, let’s take a lap through the 2024 Browns schedule and see how they might be expected to do this year.
Cleveland Browns Record Prediction: Part 1 of 2
Browns 1st-Quarter Record Prediction: 3-1
The NFL schedule overlords did not do the team any favors this year. “Franchise” quarterback Deshaun Watson is returning from shoulder surgery, which interrupted his return last year from suspension. He’s a notoriously slow starter as it is, and the team’s banged-up offensive line forced him to sit for the entire preseason. In all, Watson has played 12 games since 2020 and has earned a shade under $100 million for his trouble.
Watson and the Browns would’ve preferred about 25 other teams ahead of the Dallas Cowboys as their season opener. Dallas is perennially talked about as one of the better teams in the league and though they usually fade come playoff time, they generally play well in September. Dallas is a tough defense as well, and if Watson starts slow – which is expected – running back Jerome Ford’s shoulders aren’t big enough to carry the team.
Week 2 finds Cleveland visiting the Jacksonville Jaguars. Though the Jaguars played better last season, Jacksonville feels like a middle-of-the-pack team at best. On paper, Cleveland matches up with them well across the board. However, the Browns struggled on the road last year, particularly on defense. If defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has fixed his unit’s road woes – and he’ll have to if the Browns want to make a jump this year – this should be one of Cleveland’s easier games.
The Cleveland Browns Scheduling Oddity
In a scheduling oddity, Cleveland plays the entire NFC East before meeting a single AFC North rival. Week 3 sees the team returning to the shores of Lake Erie to take on the New York Giants. The Giants are in the midst of a rebuild and are still trying to figure out if Daniel Jones has a future with the team. If Cleveland can’t take the Giants at home, general manager Andrew Berry will be pivoting to next year pretty early.
Remember those aforementioned road woes? So do the Browns, who plan to switch things up for their long trips in 2024. That starts with Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Cleveland will be heading out west two days before their left coast games this year. Las Vegas played inspired ball under then-interim head coach Antonio Pierce last year. The two previous administrations have left the talent cupboard a little bare – particularly at quarterback. If the road woes have been fixed, this is another must-win for the brown and orange.
Browns 2nd-Quarter Record Prediction: 3-2
The Browns had better hope that their road issues have been worked out by now. That’s because the team continues its three straight away from home with matchups against the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles. Washington finished with the No. 2 overall draft choice in 2023. Their rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels looks like he might be the franchise signal caller the team has sought since Joe Theismann broke his leg in 1985. But the team has a long way to go to be competitive, and the stadium formerly known as FedEx Field hasn’t provided a home-field advantage for decades now. That makes this another must-win for Cleveland.
Week 6 is a tougher ticket. One of the Achilles heals of the Jim Schwartz defense in 2023 was mobile quarterbacks. They don’t come more mobile than Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts. Philly is also a tough place for any road team to play – these fans once lambasted Santa Claus. But here’s the thing: Running back Nick Chubb could be back by then. Will Chubb make his season debut in the City of Brotherly Love? What will he look like? But as far as inspiration goes… it’s hard to do better.
Three Straight at Home
The Browns finally return for three straight at home. The first two come against major rivals Cincinnati and Baltimore. The Cincinnati Bengals weren’t at their best in 2023. But that team runs through franchise quarterback Joe Burrow, and he played less than half the season. The good news for Cleveland is that if Watson is going to be back at the top of his game, it’ll have happened by late October. The bad news? The same can be said for Burrow. But Cincinnati also lost its offensive coordinator, so the team is a bit of a question mark.
The same can not be said for Week Eight’s matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. The last time the two rivals met, Cleveland saw the Jekyll and Hyde that has been Watson the last few years. Watson had a horrific first half, but followed that up with a perfect second half… all apparently with a busted shoulder. If Cleveland is the team they hope to be, this is a tough game. If not, it could be ugly.
Since Cleveland has a Week 10 bye, we’ll throw in their ninth game here as well: the Los Angeles Chargers. Yes, Cleveland plays host to the Harbaugh brothers in consecutive weeks. While the Ravens are at the top of their game, the Chargers are anything but. Harbaugh will get these guys there eventually, but for the moment, Los Angeles is rebuilding from salary cap hell. Their front office also can’t seem to get right either. While they have some promising younger players. This includes quarterback Justin Herbert. However, until Harbaugh puts his stamp on the team, this looks like a replay of the career of Phillip Rivers: a mediocre team propped up by a Hall of Fame talent under center. For now, this is a must-win for Cleveland, particularly at home.
Cleveland’s record entering the Week 10 bye: 6-3
Main Photo: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
