Browns face tough opponents in '24

From free agency to contract restructures, schedule releases, and soon the NFL draft, this Browns off-season is providing plenty of storylines for fans.

Although we don't know when the Browns will face their opponents this year, we know who the Brown & Orange will battle. We also know what some of the experts are saying.

Who We Play

The Browns play each of the AFC North teams twice. With the Bengals, Steelers, and Ravens all finishing above .500 last year, and with those teams all improving in the off-season, these will be six challenging match-ups.

Additionally, the Browns play several 2023 playoff teams, including Miami, Dallas, Kansas City, Jacksonville, and Philadelphia.

OSU Buckeye fans will be happy to jeer Jim Harbaugh and his LA Chargers when they visit Cleveland. Other non-playoff teams we'll play include the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints, and New York Giants.

To see an overview of the home/road match-ups, click here.

Strength of Schedule

According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Browns will have the third toughest schedule in the entire NFL.

The five teams with the most challenging schedule (based on 2023 records) are:

1. Pittsburgh

2. New England

3. Cleveland

4. Baltimore

5. Minnesota

In contrast, the five teams with the easiest schedules are:

1. Atlanta

2. LA Chargers

3. Chicago

4. NY Jets

5. New Orleans Saints

According to Brandon Little of AtoZ Sports, the Browns will play a second-place schedule of teams in the NFL due to Cleveland's second-place finish in the AFC North. Little wrote, "Cleveland won 11 games in 2023, but it's going to be tougher to make that happen again. The projections are off of Vegas win totals for the 2024 season."

Predicted Wins in '24

DraftKings Network recently released their predictions for every NFL team in 2024. Leading the league with an expected 11.5 wins is Kansas City, San Francisco, and Baltimore.

Although this is only based on early free agency acquisitions, the Browns are expected to win 8.5 games, which is the same as Pittsburgh and worse than Cincinnati's 10.5 expected win total.

Other teams expected to win 10.5 games include:

• Dallas

• Atlanta

• Philadelphia

• Miami

• Green Bay

• Detroit

• Buffalo

On the bottom of the list, Carolina and New England are expected to win a woeful 4.5 games each, while Tennessee and Denver are predicted to win 5.5 games.

But What About...?

There are various takes and perspectives on these recent national reports.

Chet Gresham of DraftKings predicted the Browns win over 8.5 games.

Photo credit: Cleveland Browns official website.