Cleveland finished the 2024 season with an astounding 8-1 home record. Simply put, visiting teams came to Cleveland to lose and it was that simple.
The only stumble for the Browns was a week four loss to the Baltimore Ravens, which was due in large part to Deshaun Watson’s game-time scratch. Outside of that performance, the Browns couldn’t have played much better at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Is this something that they can replicate in 2024?
Like it or not, Lady Luck appeared to be a Browns fan last fall. Cleveland faced off against an injured Joe Burrow, Ryan Tannehill, Lamar Jackson, Brock Purdy, Kenny Pickett, Clayton Tune, Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence and Trevor Siemian. That isn't exactly a murderers row of signal callers. While the Browns took care of business against opponents they were supposed to beat, they were exposed by some of the higher-tier guys on that list. Both Fields and Lawrence kept their teams in it and even required the Browns to complete a miracle to win.
2024 should be much different on the lakefront. Dak Prescott will bring his high-powered crew to town to get things going next season. After Dallas, the entire AFC North will present a specific challenge with Burrow returning to full health, the defending NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and a massive upgrade in Pittsburgh. All of that before the best quarterback in football, Patrick Mahomes makes his return to Cleveland.
It will be much harder in 2024 to have the same type of home field advantage that Cleveland experienced last year. With that said, the Browns should theoretically have much more consistent play from their quarterback, which will go a long way to helping them be a tough team at home.
And don’t forget, the Dawg Pound will do its part to make sure opposing teams board their plane full of disappointment. The Browns defense last year proved they can play with anybody and that group looks really strong coming into the season as well.
