If you're a Browns fan, you already know the drill. You spend half the year waiting for the schedule to drop, and the other half frantically checking your phone on Sunday mornings to see if kickoff is at 1 p.m. or if we’re actually getting a night game for once. Honestly, the 2025-2026 season was a bit of a weird one for the Dawg Pound. We didn’t get any primetime slots initially, which kinda feels like a snub, but it also meant a lot of consistent Sunday afternoons at Huntington Bank Field.
If you are looking for when do cleveland browns play, the short answer is that the regular season has wrapped up as of January 4, 2026. The Browns finished their campaign with a 5-12 record, missing out on the postseason after a tough run through one of the hardest divisions in football.
The Regular Season Grind: A Week-by-Week Look
The season kicked off back in September, and it was a rollercoaster. We started at home against Cincinnati, which is always a high-energy way to open the year, even if the result didn't go our way. One of the biggest highlights was definitely that Week 5 trip across the pond.
The Browns took on the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. For the fans who woke up at 9:30 a.m. ET to watch, it was a memorable (if stressful) morning. After that international stint, the schedule settled into a fairly predictable rhythm of 1:00 p.m. starts on CBS and FOX.
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Here is how the back half of the 2025 schedule looked as the team fought through the winter months:
- Week 10: November 9 – at New York Jets (L 20-27)
- Week 11: November 16 – vs Baltimore Ravens (L 16-23)
- Week 12: November 23 – at Las Vegas Raiders (W 24-10)
- Week 13: November 30 – vs San Francisco 49ers (L 8-26)
- Week 14: December 7 – vs Tennessee Titans (L 29-31)
- Week 15: December 14 – at Chicago Bears (L 3-31)
- Week 16: December 21 – vs Buffalo Bills (L 20-23)
- Week 17: December 28 – vs Pittsburgh Steelers (W 13-6)
- Week 18: January 4 – at Cincinnati Bengals (W 20-18)
It’s sort of wild how the season ended. Winning those last two games against AFC North rivals definitely took some of the sting out of the 5-12 finish. Beating the Steelers and then grabbing a road win in Cincy to close things out gives the team a little momentum heading into the draft.
Why the Schedule Matters for 2026
When you ask when do cleveland browns play, you’re usually looking for the next game. Since the 2025-2026 season is over, the focus now shifts to the offseason. The Browns are officially in "evaluation mode." With a 4th-place finish in the AFC North, the 2026 schedule will be determined by the NFL’s rotation and the final standings.
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Basically, because we finished last in the division, we’ll face other last-place teams in the conference next year. That usually means a slightly "easier" path on paper, though in the NFL, that’s a dangerous assumption.
The NFL typically releases the official 2026 schedule in mid-May. That's when we'll find out the exact dates and times for the next set of games. Until then, we’re looking at the NFL Draft in April as the next big "event" on the calendar.
How to Watch and Stay Updated
Most Browns games air on CBS or FOX. Since there weren't many primetime games this past season, fans didn't have to worry too much about having a dozen different streaming services just to see a Thursday night game.
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If you're planning for next year, here’s the usual breakdown of where to find them:
- Local Broadcasts: CBS (usually for AFC matchups) and FOX (usually when playing NFC teams).
- Streaming: Paramount+ carries the CBS games, and the FOX Sports app usually handles the rest if you have a cable login.
- NFL+: Great for watching on your phone, but it’s mostly for local and primetime games.
It's been a tough year for Cleveland sports fans, but those division wins at the end of the season showed there's still a lot of fight in this roster. Myles Garrett is still a force, and seeing the team pull together to beat Pittsburgh in Week 17 is something we can all hang our hats on for the winter.
Now that the 2025-2026 season has concluded, the most important thing for fans to do is keep an eye on the NFL Scouting Combine in late February and Free Agency in March. These events will dictate how the roster looks when the 2026 schedule finally kicks off next September. Check back in May for the full list of dates, times, and opponents for the new season.