A lot of fans and analysts believe the Cleveland Browns can take a significant step forward beyond the five wins they collected in 2025. Even following the Myles Garrett trade and with major questions at the quarterback position, this team is well-positioned to be a surprise playoff contender if some of those big questions can get answered.
The somewhat soft schedule has only given fans more reason for optimism. You never want to start counting your wins before the games are played, but Cleveland’s path to finishing above .500 is clear, though there is a spicy early-season matchup that will certainly be a can’t-miss affair involving a familiar face.
Tim Bielik of Cleveland.com recently wrote an article highlighting Cleveland’s Week 2 opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He detailed how former Brown and current Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield fought through a shoulder injury down the stretch in 2025, but he’ll be healthy for this Browns matchup and will represent quite the challenge for Cleveland.
“The former Browns quarterback has found a home in Tampa Bay, but a late-season AC joint sprain in his left shoulder contributed to his team’s late collapse. He should be much healthier come Week 2, and the Browns know as well as anyone how good Mayfield can be when motivated. Tampa Bay’s pass rush is by committee, and Bain should only make that group deeper. While it’s not an elite pass rush unit, it’s one that should give the Browns’ new-look offensive line a test,” Bielik wrote.
Mayfield’s departure from the Browns was not smooth, and anybody who knows Mayfield knows he already has this game circled on his calendar. It will be the second consecutive game the Browns play in Florida to open the season after their Week 1 matchup at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Cleveland infamously shipped Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers years ago to help clear the path for the Deshaun Watson trade, which has worked out as poorly as anybody could have imagined. If Watson wins the starting gig, that Week 2 battle could feature Mayfield going head to head with the man who replaced him, which is just more motivation for Mayfield.
It’s great to see Mayfield thriving with a new team that has fully embraced him, and it’s fair for many Browns fans to still wonder what could have been, especially considering the current QB situation. The first two weeks will serve as good tests for how this Browns’ season is going to go, and if they can even go 1-1 over those tough two weeks, it would be a solid start to an important campaign.
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