Browns fans should make one thing of the team’s schedule for next season.
When it comes to nationally televised games, the NFL’s arms aren’t exactly wide open and welcoming. The Browns only received two announced spotlight games, and neither of them is in the marquee Sunday night time slot reserved for prominent weekly games.
The first of the games comes against arch rival Pittsburgh in the second game of the season on “Monday Night Football” on the road at Acrisure Stadium. The second comes much later in the season as they will face the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers on “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon Prime Video.
Cue the outrage regarding the Browns being disrespected at the national level. Actually, please don’t.
As a team, the Browns have underachieved by every metric the past two seasons, earning a 7-10 record last season and an 8-9 record the season prior after getting Cleveland fandom’s hopes up after a playoff season in 2020.
The schedule represents a snapshot of the moment — as weird as that sounds considering it’s May. Given quarterback Deshaun Watson’s performance in the six games in which he appeared last season where he showed more rust than The Titanic, the scheduling gods probably aren’t betting that he can turn it around, even with most of his legal problems behind him.
They are, however, providing wiggle room in case Watson plays more like the quarterback who elevated those around him as the leader of the Houston Texans before his off-the-field issues forced him onto the shelf.
The NFL is actually allowing the possibility that they could be wrong. Two late-season games in Weeks 15 and 18 against Chicago and Cincinnati (a bookend game considering they open the season against the Bengals) have no date and no time, providing the possibility that they could be flexed to prime time.
The consensus across the league has been that the Browns have had a good off-season. The roster looks good on paper as general manager Andrew Berry addressed needs on the defensive line and at wide receiver. But the Browns don’t yet possess the prestige of a San Francisco or even everyone else in the AFC North.
If they want prime time’s spotlight, they will have to earn it.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Analysis: Cleveland Browns have earned only 2 national TV games