Browns: Evaluating the opponents for the 2021 NFL Season

It’s the way too long season breakdown of all the Browns opponents for 2021.

The Browns have 17 opponents for the first time, so why not expect big things for the Browns in a new era of NFL football? The Browns are going to be a team to beat and despite Cleveland having the “9th strongest schedule”, the Browns are actually in the driver seat for most of their games.

At worst, this team will lose three or four games and that’s if the defense still sucks. If the defense is even 50% better, then this team may not lose a game. That’s an unrealistic expectation, so I’m picking the Browns to lose three times.

But to whom?

That’s why you need to read and see who I think the Browns biggest challenges will be in 2021.

We’re going to review this divisionally, starting with the AFC West, the NFC North, the AFC North, and the leftovers. The reason for this is because it’s less about when the Browns play what team, and more about the teams they’re actually playing.

Week 1 – Chiefs (Away)

Facing off with the Kansas City Chiefs is a great way to start the season. They had to overhaul pieces of their roster in the offseason, namely at the offensive line spot. Just because you make perceived upgrades, doesn’t mean they always become upgrades. The Chiefs will need time to gel regardless, and the Browns’ revamped defense may be able to take advantage of that. Though, they are themselves going to need time to gel as well.

This will be a big game for Baker Mayfield, and assuming the entire offense is healthy heading into the game, this could be a major breakout moment for Mayfield. He’s finally entering the second year of a system, something we’ve never seen before, and he could be ready for a massive breakout moment.

Expectation: The Browns nearly beat the Chiefs last year and granted it was after some injuries, but it wasn’t like the Browns defense was fully healthy either. Myles Garrett was still wracked with the after-effects of COVID and only played in 67% of defensive snaps in their last encounter. A number that’ll be much higher in the rematch. If Andrew Berry is the genius many claim him to be, this team should be able to hang in until the end, or even get the win. Anything else is unacceptable.