The Cleveland Browns entered the 2026 NFL season with several question marks surrounding the franchise.
How would Todd Monken fare at age 60 in his first head-coaching gig at the NFL level? What would the defense do with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz at home in the recliner and Mike Rutenberg running a defense for the first time? And, since these are still the Browns, just what the heck is going on with the quarterback position?
Those questions all laddered up to the one that counts the most,
which was just how many wins this team can get in 2026.
The expectations for that last one were low on the national level, as the sportsbooks set the over/under on Cleveland’s win total at 5.5, a figure that owner Jimmy Haslam confidently said he would take the over on prior to the start of the season.
Well, if you believed that Haslam knew more than the oddsmakers, then you are one happy person, as Sunday’s latest comeback victory, this one a 27-24 defeat of the Houston Texans, means the Browns hit the over as they are now 6-4 on the season.
That was not the only milestone the Browns reached on Sunday, however, as the victory pushes their record to 4-0 at home for the first time since 1963.
Cleveland’s three-point win was their sixth of the season (it would have been seven if quarterback Deshaun Watson had played against the New Orleans Saints), which makes the Browns the first team in NFL history to have each of their first six wins in a season come by four points or fewer.
So let’s go back to those questions from the preseason and check on the answers:
- Monken as a first-time head coach? He has the Browns playing meaningful games in November, so check!
- Rutenberg as a first-time defensive coordinator? The defense is a huge part of why the Browns are 6-4, and today they held Houston to seven points and quarterback CJ Stroud to just 21 passing yards in the second half, so check!
- And that question about the quarterback? No one saw it coming, and no one can explain how he is doing it, but Deshaun Watson is the unquestioned starting quarterback for the rest of the season, so check!
Enjoy the bye week, everyone. Because the final seven games of the season are setting up to be one wild ride.
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