2020 Opponents Set

[MWil23]

Week 1: @Ravens

Exciting and really brutal opener. At least it spares us the automatic home opener loss. Headed into the reigning MVP and having a short offseason to prepare for Lamar, knowing that you're going to get him/them healthy and at full strength is a tough task.

Week 2: Bengals (Thursday)

A Thursday game WEEK 2 coming off of a physically brutal game vs. Baltimore is just AWFUL. A short week to get healthy and throw together a scheme against a rookie QB is unfortunate.

Week 3: Redskins

This is one of those games that if we lose, we aren't a playoff team, regardless of how Weeks 1 and 2 go IMO.

Week 4: @ Cowboys

Really tough matchup for us. That offense against our defense is going to give me nightmares. Their OL/Running game against our Front 7 is going to be very difficult to overcome. 

Week 5: Colts (4:30)

I'm one of the few "Colts haters" this year. I don't believe in Rivers anymore. He was great, but he's a shell of his former self. It's also not at Lucas Oil, so that's encouraging.

Week 6: @ Steelers

Too bad this game isn't Week 1 after the Myles incident. The Steelers clearly went "ALL IN" on one last run with Ben.

Week 7: @ Bengals

Back to back divisional games here.

Week 8: Raiders

HAVE to win this one headed into the bye.

Week 9: BYE week

We need to be 5-3 headed into the bye, worst case scenario IMO

Week 10: Texans

We'll see how this new regime is coming off of a bye with 2 full weeks to scheme against the Texans with Watson coming to town

Week 11: Eagles

Which Wentz are we going to see? Three consecutive home games is nice.

Week 12: @ Jaguars

We need to win road games like this

Week 13: @ Titans

Tough road game down the stretch. I'd let Tannehill throw for 600 yards before I let Henry do anything. If they don't play all game with 8 in the box I'll be upset. If Tannehill beats you, then so be it.

Week 14: Ravens (Monday)

A game with potentially major implications in PRIME TIME down the stretch. You want to be taken seriously on the national stage? You'd better come to play.

Week 15: @ Giants

Week 16: @ Jets

We HAVE TO beat the Giants and Jets down the stretch, albeit the schedule balances back with 4 out of the last 5 on the road

Week 17: Steelers

This is the finale that we all deserve to see.

Bottom Line:

We HAVE TO go 3-3 worst case scenario in the division, probably more like 4-2, to be put in a position to contend for the playoffs. 

[Pruitt3443]

I do not see any games on the schedule that are unwinnable.  But given all the circumstances and the way things work out I see us going maybe 10-6 or 9-7 and would not be surprised if we knocked off Baltimore in the opener and then the Bengals only to then lose to Washington, just because that would be a Browns sort of thing to do.

 

[#32]

According to the experts, Browns have 4th easiest schedule.  IMHO all the games are winnable which translates into 8-8.  For division games, I believe we win all home games and lose on road to Balt and Pitt which translates to 4-2 in division and 10-6 for year.  As discussed on this forum, Browns will need to add veteran lb, g, and dback for defense to upgrade.  I firmly believe our O will score points with the running game controlling the clock when needed.  The D needs to keep opponents under 20 pets a game for 10-6 to be reality.

[Reginaldm9]

1 hour ago, MWil23 said:

I'm not saying you're wrong, but if we start off the season 1-5, I can't even imagine the fanbase/talking heads calling for Mayfield/Stefanski's heads.

We really need to come out at least 3-2 in our first 5 games if we want to be considered a playoff contender.

Yeah I mean, that's the hope. But what good has that ever done for us? Just trying to make a practical prediction. 

[MWil23]

1 hour ago, Reginaldm9 said:

Yeah I mean, that's the hope. But what good has that ever done for us? Just trying to make a practical prediction. 

Oh I’m not saying you’re wrong at all, just merely that it would be absolutely disastrous.

[Johnny Nix]

Looks like Carp (Christmas) week comes early this year. Hopefully both teams are fully healthy so we can finally decide which Ohio team is made of Carp. I’m actually a little concerned about the Browns now that they’ve actually invested in the Offensive line. 

[candyman93]

I’m pessimistic because I don’t trust Baker to not be a turnover machine. I also don’t have confidence in our pass rush outside of Myles.

 

What gives me optimism is our run game, our receiving playmakers, better offensive line play, better DT depth, Myles being back, and surprisingly our secondary.

Edited May 8, 2020 by candyman93

[mtmmike]

I for one like the schedule.

Ravens we beat the ravens 40-25 last year without hunt,Conklin,Willis,Hooper,Phillips,and delphin.

The defense with Myles ,Phllips,Delphin people forget how bad randell was last year has he even signed?

Thoughts browns go 4-2 in the division

2-2 verses nfc east

The browns go 4-2 against the rest of the schedule

[candyman93]

@ Ravens L (We suck in openers period)

Bengals W

Redskins W

@ Cowboys L

Colts W

@ Steelers L

@ Bengals L

Raiders W

Bye

Texans W (I think they’ll be a bad team)

Eagles L

@ Jaguars W

@ Titans L

Ravens W

@ Giants L

@ Jets W

Steelers W

9-7 and a 7th seed
 

Edited May 8, 2020 by candyman93

[FGK]

1 hour ago, candyman93 said:

9-7 and a 7th seed

I am encouraged by this prediction because I think it's a bit pessimistic and we still end up with a winning record.

[candyman93]

26 minutes ago, freakygeniuskid said:

I am encouraged by this prediction because I think it's a bit pessimistic and we still end up with a winning record.

Agree strongly.

 

My 3 AFC teams that will miss the playoffs that were in last year:

 

1. Titans - This just screams crashing back down to earth. I can easily see Tannehill becoming Miami Tannehill.

 

2. Texans - They are screwed. Brutal schedule and they still didn’t fix the defense.

 

3. Patriots - They lost Tom, a bunch of other guys, and they still have no offensive weapons. Last time Bill didn’t have Tom he missed the playoffs.

 

My top 4 new kids on the block for the playoffs:

 

1. Steelers - Just a safe pick.

 

2. Colts - They will surprise some people this year. Rivers can succeed in a dome.

 

3. Raiders - I think Chucky will have them competing at a solid level offensively due to his scheme. They’ve quietly gotten better in the trenches too.

 

4. Browns - Call me biased. I don’t think 9-7 is crazy. I think we are better than the Jets / Broncos / Patriots next season. We have a better QB situation than those 3.

Edited May 8, 2020 by candyman93

[BleedTheClock]

@ Ravens-----VICTORY!   (The Browns explode into 2020 with a 31-21 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham are the stars.)

Bengals-----VICTORY!   (Nick Chubb stars in this one as the Browns win a tight one 21-20.)

Redskins-----VICTORY!   (The defense shuts down Washington, including a defensive score. 28-6.)

@ Cowboys-----DEFEAT.   (The Browns get clowned on the ground by Zeke. Shootout game though. 31-27.)

Colts-----VICTORY!   (We lay the smacketh down on these jabronis. 38-20.)

@ Steelers-----VICTORY!   (I think Pittsburgh is going to have a rough season. The Browns eek out a win 27-24.)

@ Bengals-----VICTORY!   (We sweep the Bengals. Burrow and Baker have an epic showdown though. 38-35.)

Raiders-----VICTORY!   (The Raiders aren't very good. We handle them with Chubb doing most of the heavy lifting. 31-17.)

Bye

Texans-----VICTORY!   (In a surprisingly low scoring game, the Browns beat a bad Texans team. 17-14.)

Eagles-----DEFEAT.   (The Eagles have a rebound year and steal one from the Browns. Wentz tears us up. 38-27.)

@ Jaguars-----VICTORY!   (The Jaguars are a bad team. We handle them with ease during their tanking phase. 31-7.)

@ Titans-----VICTORY!   (The Titans are going to be tough to beat, but I think we give them payback for last year. 28-38.)

Ravens-----DEFEAT.   (Baltimore finally gets one. Baker has a stinker and we lose handedly. 30-17.)

@ Giants-----VICTORY!   (Odell puts his old team in the trash, where they belong. @Gmen. 77-0.)

@ Jets-----VICTORY!   (Tough game in which a very improved Jets squad takes us to the wire. 28-24.)

Steelers-----VICTORY!   (In Ben's last game, we send him off with a broken face. 28-6.)

 

13-3. Come at me bro.

[Gmen]

33 minutes ago, BleedTheClock said:

@ Giants-----VICTORY!   (Odell puts his old team in the trash, where they belong. @Gmen. 77-0.)
 

The Odell trade was a brilliant move by Gettlemen. Brilliant.

[ditchdigger]

8 minutes ago, Gmen said:

The Odell trade was a brilliant move by Gettlemen. Brilliant.

Are you OK?

[Gmen]

8 minutes ago, ditchdigger said:

Are you OK?

 

Kind of.  I took a deep dive into analytics during the quarantine.  Made some nice plots.  OBJ.... not so good