Browns' schedule sets up for a major 2026 season in Cleveland

The Cleveland Browns are getting a life raft after their really bad 5-12 season in 2025. As the schedules sit right now, the Browns are facing the easiest strength of schedule in the entire league. Their opponents' win percentage from last season is a bottom-feeding .429, whereas the Chicago Bears have the hardest schedule in the league with a .550 win percentage.

Now, this is how the NFL designs its schedules. The NFL is somehow the one major sports league that has mastered parody and has fended off tanking and intentional losing, for the most part. Depending on where a team finishes in their division determines who they matchup with in their matchup games next year.

So, for the Browns' sake, they will be playing three entire divisions, the North twice, and then two matchup games to wrap up their schedule.

This year, it is the AFC North, the AFC South, the NFC South, and then matchup games with the NFC East, the AFC East, and the AFC West.

Because Cleveland finished fourth in the AFC North, they will play the team that finished last in those above mentioned divisions. That means they are facing the New York Giants, New York Jets, and the Las Vegas Raiders.

What this schedule means for the Browns

On paper, this is a major advantage. In reality, it means absolutely nothing. The NFL is a week-by-week league and a year-by-year league. Teams change completely from one year to the next, and no one can predict what is going to happen during a season.