Baker Mayfield did it. He lived up to the hype and brought the Browns their first victory since 2016.
Baker Mayfield ended the Browns’ winless drought. So when are they winning their next game?
Thursday night’s victory against the Jets was Cleveland’s best chance for a W in 2018. What about the rest of the year?


So what now?
Thursday’s win took advantage of the Cleveland Browns’ best opportunity to end a years-long losing streak. They were betting favorites against a New York Jets team starting a rookie quarterback who had thrown three interceptions in his first two games — and who threw two more in Cleveland. OddsShark’s computer predicted a double-digit victory for Hue Jackson’s team and while Mayfield’s comeback wasn’t quite that decisive, it still led to a deluge of free Bud Light up and down the Cuyahoga River.
The Browns avoided a 0-2-1 start, but an unforgiving schedule won’t give them many chances for more happy postgame drinking. Jackson’s 2018 schedule was always going to be difficult thanks to the team’s cross-conference showdown with a stacked NFC South, but even the 2017 bottom feeders that dot the Browns’ slate look significantly better one year later. If Mayfield struggles against teams with a full week to prepare for him as the starter, it could be a long rebuilding year in northeast Ohio.
So what does the rest of the team’s schedule look like? Well...
Week 4: at Oakland
Win probability: Medium
The Raiders are flawed, but Jon Gruden appears to have Derek Carr back on track after an awful three-interception performance in Week 1. The good news for Cleveland is a punchless Oakland pass rush would give Mayfield time to shine in the pocket. The better news is that Hue Jackson beating Gruden, the Raiders’ $100-million man, would be some of the greatest schadenfreude the NFL has ever seen.
Week 5: vs. Baltimore
Win probability: Low
Joe Flacco has rebounded from his awful 2017 and is playing well enough for this to be a standard, smother-you-with-defense and do-just-enough-on-offense team. That’s bad for the Browns, who are 2-17 against Flacco all time. Baltimore currently ranks fifth in the league in opponent passer rating, and would jump at the chance to give Mayfield a proper introduction to the AFC North.
Week 6: vs. LA Chargers
Win probability: Medium
Philip Rivers is averaging 340 passing yards and three touchdowns per game. But he also threw for 322 yards in Cleveland back in 2016 when a Chargers loss paved the way for the Browns’ 1-15 campaign. Let’s upgrade this home game from “low” to “cautiously optimistic.”
Week 7: at Tampa Bay
Win probability: Low
The Browns will have to hope 2018’s FitzMagic has run its course, or they could be walking into a buzzsaw thanks one of the league’s most explosive passing offenses. If the veteran quarterback turns back into the human embodiment of a “replacement player” and Jameis Winston winds up in the lineup, this could be a real opportunity for Jackson to earn his first-ever road win.
Week 8: at Pittsburgh
Win probability: Lowish-medium
The good news is Cleveland knows it can hang with its biggest rival and beat the crap out of Ben Roethlisberger. The bad news is the Browns will have to improve on that Week 1 tie in a hostile environment at Heinz Field. And Le’Veon Bell might be back by then, too.
But the Browns would be upgrading from Taylor, who completed 15 of his 40 passes in that Week 1 slopfest, to Mayfield — who just looked awesome, albeit against the Jets. Cleveland has to feel good knowing its quarterback situation has nowhere to go but up against Pittsburgh ... right?
Week 9: vs. Kansas City
Win probability: Low
The league’s other contender for “most explosive passing offense” is led by a first-year starter on pace for a record-setting season. The good news for the Browns is that the Chiefs’ defense may or may not be butt.
Week 10: vs. Atlanta
Win probability: Low
Cleveland’s best bet is to hope the injury curse that picks off a different starting Falcon each week has reduced the Atlanta defense to a pile of undrafted free agents and practice squad signees.
Week 12: at Cincinnati
Win probability: Low
The Bengals actually look ... good? Cincinnati is off to a 2-0 start but could wind up 2-5 thanks to a brutal early schedule where four of their next five opponents are 2017 playoff teams (and the fifth is 2-0 Miami). Still, if Andy Dalton keeps putting up 34 points per game, he’s going to be tough to stop.
Week 13: at Houston
Win probability: Medium-high
The Texans got Deshaun Watson back for 2018, but he’s currently in the throes of a sophomore slump. Will he return to form by the time Cleveland comes to town? Will he stay healthy enough to remain in the starting lineup? Can the Browns’ offensive line keep whichever quarterback is taking snaps in December upright against Houston’s loaded defense?
Week 14: vs. Carolina
Win probability: Low
The last 2017 playoff team on the Browns 2018 schedule is the Panthers, who remain tough to get a read on. Carolina shut down Dak Prescott back in Week 1 and could probably do the same to another young QB sensation if Mayfield is still the team’s starter by this point.
Week 15: at Denver
Win probability: Low
Case Keenum has reverted to form (3 TDs, 4 INTs) after last year’s breakthrough with the Vikings, but a suddenly useful rushing attack has made him good enough to push his team to a 2-0 start. If the defense falls back into gear, Denver could be playing for a postseason bid when it hosts the Browns. That’s not good for Cleveland.
Week 16: vs. Cincinnati
Win probability: Medium
The Bengals could be in the thick of the playoff hunt, or they could have abandoned all hope by this point in the season. Cincinnati still loves spoiling things when a bleak winter sets in, however. Like chili. Or the Ravens’ playoff hopes last year.
Week 17: at Baltimore
Win probability: Medium
If the Ravens are good enough, this could be a low-meaning game that convinces John Harbaugh to rest his starters in advance of the playoffs. Of course, the Steelers did that last year and it still didn’t end in a win for the Browns.











