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Browns opponents for 2018 coming into focus

By Thomas Moore

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Sammie Coates of the Cleveland Browns looks on during the NFL International Series match between Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium on October 29, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Sammie Coates of the Cleveland Browns looks on during the NFL International Series match between Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium on October 29, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Browns will know their full slate of opponents for the 2018 regular season following Sunday’s slate of games.

The Cleveland Browns still have one more game to play this season, but as the NFL heads into Week 17 the schedule for 2018 is coming into focus.

The Browns will go into next season with general manager John Dorsey’s stated goal of winning the AFC North Division. That would be a lot easier if the Browns did not routinely finish at 0-6 or 1-5 within the division, but those are the kind of nuances that are perhaps lost on a “football guy” like Dorsey.

In case he needs reminding, since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns are:

  • 12-26 against the Cincinnati Bengals, and have lost 15 of the past 19 meetings
  • 9-29 against the Baltimore Ravens, and have lost 18 of the past 20 meetings
  • 6-31 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and have lost 25 of the past 28 meetings

Cleveland will have an opportunity to start reversing those numbers next season when they have their annual home-and-home series with the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals.

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Outside the division, the Browns will face the AFC West, with home games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers, while traveling to take on the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.

The game against the Chiefs has the potential to be a spicy one as Kansas City fired Dorsey over the summer. In addition, the Browns could be sporting a new quarterback in Alex Smith, who would certainly enjoy the opportunity to beat his former team.

On the NFC side of things, the Browns will be taking on the NFC South, with home games against the Atlanta Falcons — welcome home Alex Mack and Taylor Gabriel! — and the Carolina Panthers. That leaves road games with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Those are not particularly exciting match ups, although the Browns have dominated the Saints over the years, winning 13 of their 17 meetings, and pulled off one of their biggest upsets the last time they traveled to New Orleans, a 30-17 win in 2010.

The only opponents that are still waiting the outcomes of Sunday’s games come in the form of the fourth-place teams from the AFC South Division and AFC East Division. The New York Jets will likely claim the AFC East slot as they are facing the New England Patriots with rookie Bryce Petty at the controls, while we’ll have to wait for the outcome of the big Indianapolis Colts-Houston Texans clash to fill out the final opponent.

Next: Does it matter if Steelers rest their stars on Sunday?

It is not an imposing looking schedule, at least on paper, so hopefully the Browns can figure out a way to win a game or two next season.

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