The Browns Playoff Push Needs To Start Now
Credit: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
The NFL season is days away, and with its arrival comes tremendous pressure on the Cleveland Browns to build on their 11-6 2023 campaign. While the Browns are considered to be a Super Bowl-caliber team, there is a sense that their window starts closing after this year. Heck, their window might close way faster than that with a slow start. While most teams won’t begin their playoff push until the second half of the season, the Browns should consider starting theirs early – like way early.
Heading into 2024, the Browns have one of the hardest schedules in the NFL, with their opponents having the highest combined winning percentage in 2023. Yet, if you look at Weeks 1-5, you’ll see three teams that finished below .500 last year and a combined 2023 Win-Loss record of 39-46.
With the gift of the season front-loading their easiest matchups, they need to get off to a 4-1 start to set themselves up for success. The key to Cleveland’s season is to give themselves some cushion ahead of their end-of-year gauntlet, where they will face four playoff teams in the final five weeks, as well as road games against each of their division rivals.
Never mind the Super Bowl. If Cleveland stumbles out of the gate, you can kiss the playoffs goodbye, and the Browns will waste another year with a loaded roster
The Dawg Pound will open the season at home against last year’s NFC East winner, the Dallas Cowboys. The Browns enter the game as favorites and will seek to win their third-straight Week 1 matchup, something the franchise hasn’t done since returning to Cleveland.
If they can get past Dallas with a W, then the next four should be a breeze.
The Browns then head on the road to Jacksonville in Week 2, playing a Jaguars team coming off an odd season. A mediocre campaign by Trevor Lawrence allowed the Houston Texans to dethrone them for the AFC South crown. Cleveland should be favored to win that game, as well. There is not much to be said about the Week 3 matchup, as the only saving grace for the New York Giants is that their defense might be good. If the Browns can avoid falling into a trap game at home, this shouldn’t be difficult.
Week 4 sees them travel to Las Vegas. No matter how good or bad the Raiders are, the Browns always seem to have an issue beating them. This might be the most dangerous matchup of the first five, as Cleveland struggled in road games last season, especially on the West Coast. The Browns are the better team, but this feels like the spot in the schedule with the most potential for Cleveland to underwhelm.
Finishing off this five-week stand is a trip to our nation’s capital to square off against the Washington Commanders. Last season, the Commanders had the worst record of these first five teams. Now that they’ve re-loaded with rookie QB Jayden Daniels and a handful of decent offseason acquisitions, they could pose a sneaky threat to the Browns. Realistically though, Cleveland should pull away the victor in Week 5. And honestly? There’s no reason why we shouldn’t expect them to go 4-1, or even 5-0.
Especially given what’s at stake at the end of the year. We mentioned that rough five-game stretch at the end, but the temperature will turn up long before Week 14. Week 8 has Cleveland hosting the Baltimore Ravens, with Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers coming to town the following week. As bad as LA was last year, you can’t sleep on Herbert or a Harbaugh, or you’ll be in for a rough time. Then there’s the Pittsburgh Steelers slated for a Week 12 showdown.
Even the “easier” parts of the second half are hardly pushovers. Cleveland comes off their Week 10 bye with a trip to face the New Orleans Saints, who are always plucky. A Week 13 matchup at the Denver Broncos looks easy on paper, but the Browns always seem to struggle at Mile High. Then it’s time for that especially brutal stretch run.
Nevertheless, Cleveland has the roster and coaching group to beat any team they go up against. Still, it’s unrealistic to expect them to peel off win after win in the back half of their schedule. Can they hang tough? Absolutely, but if Cleveland has to rely on another four-game winning streak late in the year to make the playoffs, they might be out of luck, which means their playoff push starts on Sunday.
Up Next