CLEVELAND, OH – Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns (along with Browns fans) have some luck on their side as their starting quarterback has only been suspended six games for the 2022-23 regular season.
Watson was suspended after multiple allegations of sexual assault from over 20 women. With their new quarterback out for a short time, how will the Browns look?
The Panthers and Baker Mayfield
Cleveland will open the season against the Carolina Panthers and against their former quarterback, Baker Mayfield.
If Mayfield starts for the Panthers, it will be an exciting matchup with the history between him and the Browns organization.
Mayfield is looking to prove that Cleveland made a mistake trading him away. Meanwhile, the Browns want to prove that they are a better team without him.
On game day, expect the Browns to pound the ball more than usual. Also, expect their defense to try to stifle Carolina for as long as possible.
It was reported by Fansided that Mayfield struggled in training camp against the Panthers defense. A defense that was ranked 21st overall last season.
The Browns front-seven is a different animal with Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney setting the edge.
It is reasonable to expect one of Cleveland’s backups (Jacoby Brissett, Joshua Dobbs, or Josh Rosen) to struggle against the Panthers.
Prediction: 17-14 Browns
The New York Jets
The Jets are still in a rebuilding phase with their young players.
This will be the Browns easiest game throughout the whole season.
Unless the Jets defense plays like the reincarnation of the 2013 Seattle Seahawks defense, they will have a rough time stopping Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
The game will be over by the second quarter.
Final Prediction: 27-3 Browns
The Pittsburgh Steelers
The classic rivalry game is one that both teams should be excited about. This time, the Steelers will be without Ben Roethlisberger.
What’s most interesting, is to see how both teams will compete on the offensive end against each other’s top notch defenses.
Pittsburgh came off an historic season, leading the league with 55 sacks. Nearly half of that came from T.J Watt with 22.5 sacks.
On the flip side, Cleveland was ranked ninth in that category with 43.0 sacks.
This is going to be the toughest defense that the Browns will face all season. This is going to be a long and scrappy game between both franchises.
Prediction: 13-10 Steelers
The Atlanta Falcons
This is a tough one because the Falcons are very unpredictable. For the past three years, Atlanta has played inconsistent.
They can play like Super Bowl contenders in one game and the worst team in the league in the next game.
The only difference is that Atlanta will be without Matt Ryan. That’s four-straight teams with a new quarterback behind the Center.
The Browns can either easily win or easily lose this game. The only good thing for Cleveland is that the Falcons have a tendency of squandering big leads. However, this could play out to be a possible trap game for the Browns.
Prediction: 22-21 Falcons
The Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are looking to exploit Cleveland’s pass defense.
LA was ranked third in passing offense with 282.4 passing yards per game with Justin Herbert leading the offense.
Luckily for the Browns, they were ranked fifth in the league in passing offense last season. If the Browns’ secondary plays well, then it should slow down the Chargers offense.
However, containing Keenan Allen and Mike Williams will not be easy as both receivers eclipsed 1,000 yards last season.
On top of that, it’ll be hard to stop Austin Ekeler from the back field.
The Chargers defense are not slouches, as they acquired Khalil Mack in the off-season to pair up with Joey Bosa.
The Browns are going to be overwhelmed by LA’s offense and will lose in double-digits.
Prediction: 34-16 Chargers
The New England Patriots
This game is going to feel like hell for all three of Cleveland’s quarterbacks as Bill Belichick is known for taking inexperienced or backup quarterbacks out of the game.
New England’s defense will try to get as much pressure on the d-line as possible. Or, he can take the passing lanes away from Cleveland.
To win this game, the Browns have to run the ball and must win the time-of-possession battle against the Patriots.
Mix it in with some play action passes and the Browns may have a chance.
Otherwise, they’ll get picked apart against a defense that was ranked third in 2021.
Prediction: 24-13 Patriots
Final Verdict
The opening to the Browns’ season will likely be with a 2-4 losing record. On the bright side, this possible slow start could be the perfect opportunity for Deshaun Watson to take over and bring Cleveland back into playoff contention.
 have some luck on their side as their starting quarterback has only been suspended six games for the 2022-23 regular season.){kind=link}