After a long offseason of change, the Cleveland Browns will finally return to the field for a regular season game on Sunday. Their Week 1 matchup is on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Jacksonville is an opponent that should help reveal a lot about Cleveland.
One of the biggest questions for the Browns entering the season is whether the defense will remain dominant after significant changes. Cleveland notably swapped Myles Garrett, fresh off a record 23-sack season, for Jared Verse, and hired Mike Rutenberg to replace former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Now everyone is asking if the defense, which was a top unit last season, will remain elite.
While it will take most of the season to get an accurate answer to that question, Cleveland’s performance against the Jaguars’ productive offense will start to set the narrative one way or another.
Week 1 will help Browns fans set expectations for new-look defense
Last season, Jacksonville was one of the surprises of the year, going from a 4-13 team in 2024 to a 13-4 playoff team in 2025. The Jaguars’ turnaround was powered by first-year head coach Liam Coen and his high-scoring offense. With Coen calling plays, Jacksonville averaged 27.9 points per game (sixth in the NFL) and 337.4 yards per game (11th).
The Jaguars had seven games where they scored over 30 points, and two of those games crossed the 40-point mark. On the other end, Jacksonville had just three games in which it scored fewer than 20 points. Those games came against the Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams — all good defenses.
While 2026 is a new year, it’s fair to assume the Jaguars will pick up where they left off offensively. That means the Browns defense must also pick up where it left off, or things could get ugly.
Whatever the outcome, the foundation for a narrative will officially be set. If the Browns can limit Jacksonville, fans will be quick to argue that the defense is still in elite shape. However, if the Jaguars have their way, as they did for much of last season, there will be a sense of panic in Cleveland that the defense isn’t the same without Myles Garrett or Jim Schwartz.
Ultimately, it will take more than one game to know the truth, but that reality won’t prevent some Week 1 overreactions. That’s why getting off to a hot start is so important; early struggles can result in noise that forces teams to question everything. The Browns would love to avoid that on the defensive side of the ball, and a strong Week 1 performance will help with that.
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