5 Bold predictions for Cleveland Browns 2022 season

3. Browns finish 5-1 with Watson, earn Wild Card spot

Deshaun Watson will miss the first 11 games of the season, with his debut set for Week 13 against his former team as they play the Houston Texans on the road. That’s not a bad warm-up game for Watson considering the Texans are expected to contend for the No. 1 overall pick next year. He’s also surely not popular there after leaving the team, so he can get used to crowds laying into him while playing a defense he can handle.

That should be a win, even if Watson has to knock a ton of rust off, and then the Browns will face the Cincinnati Bengals in The Jungle, Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints at home, and finishing with a road trip to take on the Washington Commanders and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The three AFC North games will be tough, as they often are. As for their non-conference games, The Browns should be able to handle the Texans and Commanders, with the Saints being a toss-up— although they are beatable especially playing in Cleveland.

With that being the case, it doesn’t sound too crazy for the Browns to reel off five wins down the stretch and as long as Brissett keeps them around 5-6 or 6-5 in his 11 starts, that should be enough for them to sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card entrant.