The Cleveland Browns enter Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season in a rather unflattering spot. At the time of writing, they're the biggest underdog of the week by a sizable margin, entering Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars as 8.5-point road underdogs.
Other fan bases and analysts tend to agree with that sentiment, despite Deshaun Watson's perfect 7-0 career record as a starter against the Jaguars. Maybe that's fair to a degree, but it's a new season and all 32 teams are starting back at square one.
That's why Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen knows better than to overlook Todd Monken's team.
If anything, Coen believes the Browns may have a slight advantage on offense because Cleveland already has Jacksonville's tape from last season. The Jaguars, meanwhile, are mostly in the dark on first-year Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg and how he plans to attack on Sunday.
“I have no idea what Rudy’s going to play defensively," Coen told reporters Wednesday. "Like, I really don’t have a clue. You have an idea of some of the things that maybe they’ve done before or in the past, you go back and look. But they have a little bit of — I don’t want to say an upper hand, but they have our tape from last season. I don’t have his tape from last season of his defense. Right?
I’ve got an idea. We’ve got some thoughts. We’ve got some cutups and all that. But in Game 1, specifically, you just have to really be ready to adjust."
Mike Rutenberg's new-look Browns defense has Jacksonville preparing for the unknown
As currently constructed, the Browns are a blank canvas, for better or worse. They have multiple new additions who are expected to have big roles right out of the gate. They could catch plenty of teams by surprise, including their hosts in Week 1.
The Browns have had all offseason to prepare for this particular matchup. It's the dawn of a new era, and it's imperative that they leave Jacksonville with a good impression. That might be easier said than done against a playoff-caliber outfit, but it's certainly not impossible.
Rutenberg's defense will reportedly take a much more aggressive and creative approach. The Browns want to rank among the league leaders in takeaways again. Even without Myles Garrett and the injured Alex Wright, the Browns have talent on all three levels.
As for the offense, the baseline should be significantly higher than last year. Granted, that's not a high bar, but Monken has much more talent at his disposal than Cleveland had in years past, starting with the offensive line.
History might not be on this team's side, but when has it been? And as some will always want to look down on the Browns, who knows? Maybe the element of surprise will tilt the scales in the Browns' favor in a wild Week 1 upset.
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