Cleveland Browns: Five most difficult road games in 2017

The Cleveland Browns have a long road ahead to improvement in 2017. Which games away from FirstEnergy Stadium will give them the most trouble?

Winning on the road is one of football’s most difficult tasks. Whether it’s rowdy home fans, the unfamiliar nature of being away from home, officiating, or countless other factors, home-field advantage is real and active in the National Football League.

In fact, the numbers prove just how advantageous playing in a home stadium can be. During the regular season, 57 percent of the time, the home team will come out on top. Since each team gets the same amount of home and away games each season, home-field advantage itself is the only factor impacting this statistic.

The Cleveland Browns are no strangers to home-field advantage, at least when they’re away from FirstEnergy Stadium. In a very forgettable 2016 regular season, they were winless away from Cleveland. Not only this, they played some of their worst games on the road.

Improvement for this organization will be judged by many different outcomes in 2017, but undeniably, road victories are ultimately necessary.

Yes, even the Browns will need to find ways to win away games. And this season, that won’t be easy. As usual, they have some very difficult business trips to take this fall.

The five toughest come either as a result of unrelenting crowd noise, past history, or simply a very tough opponent who defends their home soil. Regardless, these five matchups are games to circle for the Browns if they really want to turn the corner.