The Cleveland Browns will face some of the top quarterbacks in the NFL during the 2016 season.
The month of July has arrived which means training camp is beginning in just under four weeks. There is the usual excitement, but the Cleveland Browns have an uphill climb ahead. The team is in a rebuilding phase, which means it is going to be another tough season for fans. Not that the expectations would be any higher if the team wasn’t rebuilding.
A majority of the NFL is heading into the 2016 season with plans of making a playoff run, while the Browns are just trying to make small improvements to build a competitive team for the future.
The Browns have a schedule filled with great teams this season who will be looking at the Browns game as an easy win during that playoff push. These great teams also have great quarterbacks.
The Browns will be facing some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, including some future Hall of Famers and others who have the potential to reach that point. There are at least six games, two each, against the likes of Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger, while the Browns will be putting Robert Griffin III on the field in the hope he can bring back some of that 2012 magic. On paper, this does not look good.
With the season beginning in just over two months, let’s take a look at five of the toughest quarterbacks the Browns will face during the 2016 season.
Next: 5. Andy Dalton
5. Andy Dalton
The Cleveland Browns face the Cincinnati Bengals Week 7 in Cincinnati and Week 14 in Cleveland. After last season’s results, the Bengals are clear favorites in both matchups.
The Bengals beat the Browns twice by a combined score of 68-13 in those two games, including a 31-10 victory on national television.
Andy Dalton was under the tutelage of current Browns head coach Hue Jackson last season, so Dalton’s success should give Browns fans some hope for the future in Cleveland.
Dalton threw for three touchdowns and finished 21 for 27 with 234 yards in the first game, pushing the Bengals’ record to 8-0. He followed that up with two touchdowns and 220 yards in the second game. He could have thrown for more but he was pulled early as the Browns could only muster a field goal compared to the 37 points put up by the Bengals.
Dalton has been a consistent quarterback since entering the NFL in 2011, and although he has not notched a playoff win in four appearances, he has been great in the regular season.
He only played 13 games in 2015 because of a broken thumb, but he finished with a career-high 106.3 quarterback rating. His previous best was 88.8 in 2013.
He has never thrown for under 3,000 yards in a season, and he will only continue to get better as time goes on. Two games against the Browns should help his stats, as his only misstep against the team was in a 2014 defeat on a Thursday night. That may have been the worst game of Dalton’s career, and another result like that is unlikely against the rebuilding Browns.
Next: 4. Eli Manning
4. Eli Manning
The Browns host the New York Giants in Week 12 before the late-season bye week in Week 13.
While the Giants have not been in the postseason since the 2011 season, the talent is there to make a run at another Super Bowl.
Eli Manning has been the team’s quarterback since 2004, winning two Super Bowls in that span. He has started all 16 games in each season since 2005, and has thrown for over 4,400 yards in each of the past two seasons.
This kind of production from the quarterback position is unknown to the Browns organization since 1999, and even though the Giants have not made the postseason since 2011, it shows the model of a true franchise quarterback.
Manning is coming off a Pro Bowl season and a year in which he threw for a career-high in touchdowns with 35.
The 35-year-old does not look to be slowing down at all, and his durability should see him be in the league for at least four more seasons.
He will come to Cleveland with Odell Beckham Jr., a player the Browns could have drafted but was instead added to the list of players saved by not being picked by the Browns.
Week 12 should see both teams in much different situations, as the Giants should be competing for a playoff berth while the Browns will be trying to play the role of spoiler and pick up a surprising win.
As long as Manning stays healthy for another season, he should be able to throw for over 300 yards in this Week 12 matchup.
Next: 3. Ben Roethlisberger
3. Ben Roethlisberger
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, just five picks after the Browns selected Kellen Winslow. Jeff Garcia opened the season as the starting quarterback for the Browns that season.
The Browns once against face the Steelers twice in 2016, with games in Week 11 and Week 17. The Browns have not won a game in Pittsburgh since 2003, so the Week 17 in Pittsburgh game is all but over.
Roethlisberger has made it difficult for the Browns to have any success against the Steelers since he was drafted in 2004. While the Browns have struggled in that span, he has won two Super Bowls and has gone to four Pro Bowls.
He has dealt with injuries throughout his career, but he still has not thrown for under 3,000 yards since 2005 and has thrown for at least 21 touchdowns every year since 2011. The Browns have not had a player throw for at least 20 touchdowns since Derek Anderson in 2007, when he finished with 29.
The Steelers lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos last season, so a return to the playoffs is surely in the team’s sights. With Roethlisberger at the helm, this is a great possibility. And with a matchup against the Browns to end the season, the Steelers are going to make it tough for the Browns to have any success on New Year’s Day.
Next: 2. Tony Romo
2. Tony Romo
The Browns welcome the Dallas Cowboys to Cleveland in Week 9 as part of an extremely difficult home schedule in 2016. The two teams had a memorable game in 2012 when the Brandon Weeden-led Browns lost to the Cowboys in overtime in Dallas.
Tony Romo is looking to make a comeback in 2016 after only starting four games last season due to a broken collarbone that was injured on two separate occasions.
Besides last season and 2010, another injury-shortened season, Romo has won at least eight games as a starter every year since 2007. He has thrown for over 4,000 yards four times and has never finished with less than 26 touchdowns in a season where he wasn’t injured in that span.
Dedicating time to getting himself healthy again should benefit Romo heading into the 2016 season. He has dealt with some serious injuries and played through them throughout his career. Having time to heal will only make him more dangerous as he tries to win a Super Bowl before his career comes to an end.
He has a great weapon in Dez Bryant and now has rookie running back Ezekiel Elliot on the team to help draw attention away from the passing game.
The Browns should expect a heavy dose of play-action passes during a game that could get ugly fast if too much focus must be placed on the running game because of Elliot.
Giving a legendary quarterback like Romo a few seconds in the pocket will lead to a big day for the Cowboys against the young Browns defense.
Next: 1. Tom Brady
1. Tom Brady
The New England Patriots head to Cleveland in Week 5 to take on the Browns. This is already one of the hardest games on the Browns’ schedule, and it only gets harder because of an important fact.
This will be Tom Brady‘s first game back after serving a four-game suspension.
The Browns must prepare for an aerial assault of epic proportions as Brady will look to stick it to Roger Goodell and the NFL for a questionable suspension. Whoever made the schedule clearly has no sympathy for the rebuilding Browns.
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Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, and has put up some ridiculous numbers throughout his career.
He has thrown for over 4,000 yards in every season since 2011 and has never had a losing record as a starter in New England. Couple that with four Super Bowl victories and the Browns look doomed in Week 5.
The Patriots may struggle in the first four weeks, so Brady’s return will bring a sense of urgency to get the team focused and get back to the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.
It should be the hardest game for the Browns all season, and it comes just one week after Griffin makes his return to Washington to take on the Redskins. A win in that game can give the Browns confidence when going up against Brady and the Patriots, but a loss will take away any momentum in the matchup against an angry Tom Brady.