The Cleveland Browns open the 2026 season as one of the biggest underdogs in the league, and most of the football world has already written this trip to Jacksonville off before it happens. A new coaching staff, a defense without its best player and a road game against a team coming off 13 wins would make anyone skeptical. But not everyone in Cleveland media is buying the doom and gloom heading into Sunday.
92.3 The Fan’s Ken Carman is one of the few willing to go against the grain, and he made that clear on his show with co-host Anthony Lima.
Carman predicted that the Browns will beat the Jaguars on Sunday.
“I think you can get a little sloppy and find a way to win this football game on Sunday. I’m telling you right now, if you’re gonna take the Browns, I think this week’s the week to take the Browns. I’m taking the Browns to win,” Carman said.
"I think you can get a little sloppy and find a way to win this football game on Sunday. I'm telling you right now, if you're gonna take the Browns, I think this week's the week to take the Browns. I'm taking the Browns to win."
🚨 @KenCarman calling his shot with… pic.twitter.com/qetfyGiSCr
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 10, 2026
Deshaun Watson is back under center for a Browns squad now led by Todd Monken, and this will be Monken’s first regular-season game since taking over as head coach. The offense has plenty to prove after finishing near the bottom of the league in scoring a year ago, and the road opener against a confident Jaguars team only raises the degree of difficulty.
Jacksonville enters Sunday off a 13-win season under Liam Coen, with Trevor Lawrence coming off one of the best stretches of his career and a defense that ranked among the best in the NFL a year ago. Add in the fact that the Browns will be without Myles Garrett for the first time since 2016 after his trade to the Rams, and it becomes easy to understand why oddsmakers have installed Cleveland as significant underdogs at EverBank Stadium.
Jared Verse steps into the pass rush role Garrett vacated, and how quickly he adjusts to life in Cleveland could go a long way toward determining how the defense will fare this season. The Browns defense cannot expect to dominate the way it has in years past, but games are not always decided by who has more talent on paper.
Browns fans have heard plenty of reasons to expect a long season, but an upset in Week 1 would immediately change the conversation around Monken’s debut and the direction of this team.
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