CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns will kick the 2023 season off at home against the Bengals and finish on the road Week 18 in Cincinnati.
The season opener will be September 10 at 1 p.m. on CBS. A new wrinkle to the schedule – CBS and Fox are no longer married to the AFC and NFC respectively. The Browns will play eight games on CBS and five games on Fox.
All games are broadcast on Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan, Cleveland’s Classic Rock 98.5 WNCX and the University Hospitals radio network.
The Browns appear on Monday Night Football in Week 2, which will air on ABC September 18, in Pittsburgh against the Steelers before returning home for three straight games over four weeks. The Tennessee Titans visit on September 24 at 1 p.m. before the Baltimore Ravens swoop into town October 3 at 1 p.m. Both of those games will be broadcast by CBS.
“It’s certainly a unique way to start the season, but I think it’s really cool,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I think we have the best division in football — a bunch of great players and great coaches. We know each other so well and we’ve played each other so many times. It lends itself to a great rivalry, so to see the Bengals in Week 1, Steelers in Week 2 and Ravens in Week 4 means there’s no easing into this one.”
The bye week is very early – Week 5 – which means the Browns will play the final 13 games in consecutive weeks with a three trips mixed in.
“We like having the bye week where it is,” Stefanski said. “It’s going to be four really tough games to start, and then we’ll take a breather. Then, we’ll have a great opportunity in front of us with a home game against a very, very good 49ers team, and then we get on the road against some really good teams. That’s the meat of our schedule — being on the road and trying to find a way to win against really good opponents. That’s the competitive aspect of this I think our guys are excited about.”
Cleveland returns from the bye to host the San Francisco 49ers October 15 at 1 p.m. on Fox followed by trips to Indianapolis October 22 at 1 p.m. on CBS and Seattle October 29 at 4:05 on Fox.
The Browns return home November 5 against the Arizona Cardinals at 1 p.m. on CBS before traveling to Baltimore for their second game against the Ravens at 1 on Fox. The Steelers come to Cleveland November 19 on CBS at 1.
The NFL granted the Browns request to pair up at least two of the three trips west, but the team hoped it would be the Seahawks and Rams. Instead their trip to Denver November 26 on Fox at 4:05 will be followed by a plane ride to Los Angeles to play the Rams at 4:25, and also on Fox. There’s a chance the team could spend the week in L.A. instead of flying back to Cleveland.
December 10 the Jacksonville Jaguars visit at 1 p.m. on CBS followed by the Chicago Bears in Week 15. The date, time for kickoff and TV network is to be determined with that being a league flex weekend, much like Week 18.
Deshaun Watson visits his former team, the Texans, in Houston on Christmas eve at 1 on CBS.
Amazon Prime will feature the Browns home finale in Week 17 on Thursday night, December 28 at 8:15 against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
“We love night games, and we love Thursday night games particularly when we’re at home,” Stefanski said. “It’s just such a cool time for our fans to get under the lights and make a huge difference in the game like they do. As competitors, you want to play in those games because you know the whole country’s watching.”
This season, “flexible scheduling” for Sunday night may be used twice between Weeks 5-10, and at the NFL’s discretion for Weeks 11-17; and for Monday night in Weeks 13-17.
During the flex scheduling windows, the games initially scheduled for Sunday night (on NBC) and Monday night (ESPN or ABC) are tentatively scheduled and subject to change. Only Sunday afternoon games (or those listed as TBD) are eligible to be moved to Sunday night or Monday night, in which case the initially scheduled Sunday/Monday night game would be moved to Sunday afternoon.
Sunday afternoon games may also be moved between 1 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. or 4:25 p.m.
In Week 18, two games will be played on Saturday (4:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.) with the remainder to be played on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. and 4:25 p.m.) and one matchup to be played on Sunday night (8:20 p.m.).
The Browns four preseason opponents are also set: New York Jets August 3 at 8 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Washington Commanders at home followed by trips to Philadelphia and Kansas City. Dates and times for those three preseason games will be announced at a later date.
