{"id":153661,"date":"2023-11-28T10:30:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T15:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=153661"},"modified":"2023-11-28T08:26:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T13:26:55","slug":"browns-schedule-features-playoff-implicating-matchups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/11\/28\/browns-schedule-features-playoff-implicating-matchups\/","title":{"rendered":"The Biggest Games Remaining for the Cleveland Browns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through week 12 of the 2023 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns schedule has been a rollercoaster. They have had stretches of home and away games. Games have ended in one score and last-second walkoffs. It has featured disappointing losses, but beating some of the best teams in the league. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a record of 7-4 after 11 games, the Browns sit at 7-4. The Browns schedule only gets easier, especially looking at how some of their remaining opponents have played lately. With the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/ravens\/\" target=\"_self\">Ravens<\/a> at 9-3 and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/steelers\/\" target=\"_self\">Steelers<\/a> at 7-4, winning more than losing in the final stretch is crucial when looking at the Browns schedule.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their final six-game stretch features three home and three away matchups. Two of their matchups come at home in December when they host the struggling <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bears\/\" target=\"_self\">Bears<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/jet\/\" target=\"_self\">Jets<\/a>. Next week\u2019s game is against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/rams\/\" target=\"_self\">Rams<\/a> who had a big win last week but still have a losing record. Here are the three biggest games that will impact the playoff push.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Browns Remaining Schedule is Favorable, Featuring a Few Big Time Matchups<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Browns Schedule: December 10th vs Jaguars<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the date with the Rams, the Browns will return home after two road games out west. They will host the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/jaguars\/\" target=\"_self\">Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>, who currently lead the AFC South at 8-3. The impressive record has been due in part to their offensive weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">WHAT a throw from Trevor Lawrence and WHAT a catch by Calvin Ridley <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NFL<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HOUvsJAX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#HOUvsJAX<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OS0avPnEmB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/OS0avPnEmB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhifer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TannerPhifer\/status\/1728872262550655421?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stat line that sticks out in this one is their away record. The Jaguars are undefeated and 5-0 away from Florida this year. The weather in Cleveland should be frigid which could only help a Browns team that relies on defense and does not throw a lot.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the Browns can scrap their way into a win in this one, they will sit at either 9-4 or 8-5 based on the game before. This would bode well with another home game against the Bears looming.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>December 24th at Texans<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Browns schedule this year features a Christmas eve date with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/texans\/\" target=\"_self\">Houston Texans<\/a>. Another AFC South team that has impressed, they sit at 6-5 with a rookie quarterback. They are a great team at home going 4-2.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This throw from CJ Stroud traveled 70 yards in the air. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MoWB2hPm72\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/MoWB2hPm72<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/granthpaulsen\/status\/1729009294920810798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like the Jaguars they have a great offense that does not usually play in cold weather, but have a defense that you can move the ball on. Preventing the big plays and not going down too big early is crucial for the Browns. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the Jaguars having a two-game lead on the Texans and Indianapolis Colts, the Browns could end up fighting with the Texans for a wildcard spot. Winning this game is a plus one in the win column, but even bigger may be a loss for the Texans. This also features an easier opponent the following week when the Browns host the Jets, making this one a season-changing victory if possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>January 7th vs Bengals<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A divisional matchup the last week of the season will always have implications. With the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bengals\/\" target=\"_self\">Bengals<\/a> trending downward due to injuries and a tough schedule, they will look to play spoiler in the last game of the Browns schedule.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bengals are currently last in the division at 5-6. They have not been great on offense due to injuries and consistency issues. The defense has given up the most in the division leading to a -30 plus\/minus. They are on a three-game losing streak and may just be conservative depending on the record at the time of this game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Browns will ideally go 3-2 or better before this game, which would have them sitting at 10-6 going into Cincinnati. A win or loss may not matter when talking about making the playoffs but will make a difference in seeding for multiple teams. A win would have the Browns sitting with a 4-2 divisional record which will also be important in the tight AFC North race. Every game is important, but these three will likely alter the Browns season and playoff aspirations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With just three home and three away games remaining, these ones will have the biggest impact when looking at the Browns schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4916,"featured_media":153725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,8],"tags":[7809],"class_list":["post-153661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-browns","tag-cleveland-browns-news"],"modified_by":"Will Koshover, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4916"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}