The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Browns open against Kansas City Chiefs
Trip to Green Bay on Christmas, three games in prime time on tap
Fans anticipating the Browns would be the featured team on the 2021 NFL schedule are in for a letdown.
The season kicks off at 4:25 p.m. on Sept. 12 against the Chiefs in Kansas City in a rematch of the divisional playoff game the Browns lost, 22-17, in January. It will give defensive coordinator Joe Woods an early opportunity to learn how much his unit has improved. In a perfect world, the rematch would be later in the season, but Woods will have three preseason games to get his defense playing smoothly.
“Every year stands on its own merit,” head coach Kevin Stefanski was quoted saying on the team’s website. “For us, the focus is on the 2021 season.
“Now, I realize that last game, last year ended in Kansas City, so that certainly is something we have to learn from. It will truly be a matchup that’s unique to 2021. The game won’t start in the fifth quarter from last year’s game.”
The Browns open their home schedule at 1 pm. Sept. 19 against the Texans and follow that with a home game against the Bears at 1 p.m. Sept. 26.
Playing the Chiefs is an exciting way to start, but the Browns play only three night games, and the only one scheduled for FirstEnergy Stadium is a Thursday night tilt Oct. 21 against the Denver Broncos.
The Denver game is sandwiched in between
a 4:05 p.m. Oct. 17 home game against the Cardinals and a 1 p.m. Oct. 31 game with the Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium. At least the Browns will have 10 days to rest before facing the Steelers for the first time this season.
“This year, homefield advantage might be bigger than any year in recent memory with teams dealing with crowd noise week in and week out,” Stefanski said. “We’re really excited to have nine home games in front of our fans in front of what I hoped is a packed building. I know what it sounded like with 12,000, so I can’t wait to see what it’s like with 67,895.”
The Browns visit the Chargers in Los Angeles at 4:05 p.m. Oct. 10 in a game that will have a local connection. The Chargers are coached by Brandon Staley, a Perry High School graduate and a former defensive coordinator at John Carroll.
There is one juicy game late in the season. The Browns play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field
on Christmas Day at 4:30 p.m. in a game that could figure heavily in the playoffs for both teams.
“Lambeau’s a place I know well,” said Stefanski, who was an assistant coach with the Vikings for 13 years and made the annual trek to Green Bay.” It’s an incredible stadium, It’s a matchup I know our fans will be excited about on Christmas Day and we’re looking forward to playing in such a storied place like Lambeau.”
Two night games late in the season are at the homes of division rivals. The Browns play at Baltimore at 8:20 p.m. Nov. 28 in their only Sunday night game of the season. They help usher in 2022 with a Jan. 3 Monday night game in Pittsburgh and then conclude the regular season in a 1 p.m. home game with the Bengals on Jan. 9.
“The Ravens are a team we have a tremendous amount of respect for. So we know we have our work cut out for us,” Stefanski said. “There are some really challenging
matchups in our division, which is how we expect it.”
Nine games begin at 1 p.m. The Browns have the three night games already mentioned. They have the late afternoon games against the Chiefs, Cardinals, Chargers and Packers. The Browns will host the Las Vegas Raiders on either Dec. 18 or 19. The date and time has not been determined.
The season is going to be a grind. The Browns don’t get their bye until Dec. 5. On the bright side, the late week off will give the Browns a chance to recharge their batteries for a playoff run.
Preseason schedule
The Browns also announced their preseason opponents. They will play at Jacksonville the first week of the preseason and host the Giants the second week. Dates and times have not been determined. The only firm preseason game is set for Aug. 29 at Atlanta in an 8 p.m. NBC telecast.