Three biggest takeaways from Browns' 2026 NFL regular season schedule

With the 2026 NFL season quickly approaching, Cleveland Browns fans received the team’s schedule on Thursday evening.

Despite not playing their first game at home until Week 3, the Browns do have multiple favorable matchups this year that will occur in the mid-to-late part of the season. But now, with the schedule officially released, we can finally determine the key points of the season for Cleveland before Week 1.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Browns’ 2026 NFL regular season schedule.

Rough start for the season

The Browns were unfortunate to land a rough schedule to kick off the new season, as four of the team’s six opponents were in the playoffs last year. Cleveland will travel to Florida for their first two games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with both contests being good tests for the Browns' newest offense.

In addition to the two-game road stint, the organization’s upcoming schedule features three key home games: the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, the Pittsburgh Steelers on a Thursday night in Week 4, and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6. The combination of away games and the intra-division matchups against two rivals will indicate how well Cleveland could perform for the rest of the season.

Light competition late in the season

Luckily for the struggling franchise, there is a light at the end of the tunnel by the end of the season.

Following a bye week in Week 11, the Browns will play in four-straight winnable contests against the Las Vegas Raiders, the , the , and the . With the Raiders and the Giants possessing a young quarterback, Cleveland could easily bounce back from the rough schedule at the beginning of the season. The battle against former head coach will be an exciting home matchup for the fanbase, as well as the perfect test before traveling to New York in Week 15.