Must-win games are not always against the best teams on the schedule. Sometimes the most important games are the ones a team is expected to win, because losing one can undo weeks of progress and change how the rest of the season looks. Contenders usually take care of those games without much drama. The Browns are facing one of them on Sunday.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com discussed the stakes with Ken Carman and Anthony Lima on 92.3 The Fan. She believes the Browns are facing a must-win game on Sunday because of the tough three-game road stretch they are facing.
“This is a game they absolutely should win, and they need to win,” Cabot said.
“This is a game they absolutely should win, and they need to win.”
➡️ @MaryKayCabot w/ @KenCarman & @SportsBoyTony on the pressure facing the 4-2 #Browns against the Titans as they begin a three-game road stretch. pic.twitter.com/JWVhXYTlsA
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) October 22, 2026
Sunday’s trip to Tennessee starts a 3-game road stretch that continues in Pittsburgh and then New Orleans. The Browns do not return home until they host the Houston Texans on November 15th.
Of those 3 games, the Titans look like the most winnable. Tennessee is 1-5 and has scored just 84 points all season. It got its first win last week against the Indianapolis Colts, and even then Cam Ward threw for only 102 yards.
The Steelers rematch will be much tougher. Pittsburgh is also 4-2 and will be looking to even the season series, and the Browns have not won a regular-season game there since 2003. Losing in Tennessee and then in Pittsburgh could quickly drop Cleveland out of 1st place in the AFC North.
The Browns already know how these games can go wrong. Two weeks ago, they went to New Jersey to face a 1-3 New York Jets team and lost 17-12, with the protection falling apart in the rain.
Road games have been a problem all season. Cleveland is 3-0 at home and 1-2 away, and its only road win came on a late touchdown in Tampa Bay.
Health adds to the pressure. Carson Schwesinger, Grant Delpit and Elgton Jenkins all missed practice Wednesday, while Mason Graham and Quinshon Judkins were limited. The Browns may need their depth to carry them again, just as it did against Baltimore.
There is a front office angle, too. The trade deadline arrives 2 days after the Saints game, and how the Browns play on this road trip could decide whether Andrew Berry buys aggressively or holds steady. A win in Tennessee would make it easier for him to go all in.
Oddsmakers have the Browns as 1.5-point favorites. If they take care of business, they head to Pittsburgh with a chance to strengthen their grip on the division.
NEXT: Analyst Names Browns’ Top Trade Candidate Ahead Of Deadline
