BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns' 2026 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.
After being shut out of the primetime slate in 2025, the Browns will host a Week 4 "Thursday Night Football" matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's Cleveland's lone primetime game in a schedule that opens with a pair of road games in Florida and also includes three consecutive road games followed by four home games.
First-year coach Todd Monken will make his home debut in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers and then return to Baltimore, where he spent the previous three seasons as the Ravens' offensive coordinator, in Week 16.
Here's what's in store for the Browns:
Browns 2026 regular-season schedule
Week 1: Sept. 13 at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 2: Sept. 20 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 3: Sept. 27 vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 4: Oct. 1 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (TNF)
Week 5: Oct. 11 at New York Jets
Week 6: Oct. 18 vs. Baltimore Ravens
Week 7: Oct. 25 at Tennessee Titans
Week 8: Nov. 1 at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 9: Nov. 8 at New Orleans Saints
Week 10: Nov. 15 vs. Houston Texans
Week 11: Bye week
Week 12: Nov. 29 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Week 13: Dec. 6 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 14: Dec. 13 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 15: Dec. 20 at New York Giants
Week 16: Dec. 27 at Baltimore Ravens
Week 17: Jan. 3 vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 18: TBD at Cincinnati Bengals
* Dates for Week 18 are to be determined
Strength of schedule: The Browns have the No. 1-easiest schedule in the league (opponents had a .429 winning percentage in 2025).
DraftKings over/under win total: 6.5
ESPN analyst Mike Clay's projected win total: 6.1
Biggest takeaway
The Browns have the easiest schedule in the NFL based on their opponents' win percentage last season. The Monken era will begin with two consecutive road games against the Jaguars and Bucs, and six of their first 10 games before their Week 11 bye are away from Huntington Bank Field. Cleveland, though, will host four consecutive home games for the first time since 1990 and will be at home for four of its final seven games.
Circle this date
Dec. 13 vs. the Falcons. In Week 14, the Browns will host former head coach Kevin Stefanski, who was fired and quickly hired as Atlanta's coach in January, in his return to Cleveland. Stefanski led the Browns to a pair of postseason appearances and won two NFL Coach of the Year awards in six years, but he was fired after compiling a combined 8-26 record in the last two seasons. Cleveland hired Monken, in part, to lift an offense that had flailed under Stefanski's watch.
Bold prediction
The Browns will go undefeated in their four-game homestand to get back into the AFC playoff hunt. Between Cleveland's unsettled quarterback situation and as many as five new starting offensive linemen, it could be a bumpy start for an offense that will have to go on the road several times in the season's first half. The offense, though, should get its footing a bit after their Week 11 bye and will rack up some wins at home with an elite defense.
How could the opening slate impact Monken's handling of the quarterback situation?
The Browns are in the middle of a quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. Regardless of who starts the season under center, Monken could be compelled to give that player a longer runway, given the litany of road games in the first half of the season and the acclimation period needed for a new offense. Week 1 would be Watson's first NFL game in almost two years after tearing his Achilles in October 2024, and the opening game would be Sanders' eighth career start.
