Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 1 · Sunday, September 13 · 1:00 PM ET

CLECleveland BrownsPower Rank #29@JAXJacksonville JaguarsPower Rank #17

Why This Game Matters

Jacksonville opens defense of its AFC South title against a Browns team in full teardown mode after trading Myles Garrett and hiring Todd Monken, making this an early measuring-stick game for a Jaguars squad that oddsmakers are skeptical can repeat. For Cleveland, it's the first real look at a rebuilt roster and an unresolved quarterback plan against a divisional-round-caliber opponent.

Key Matchups

Browns offensive line, which could start as many as five new faces, against a Jaguars front trying to generate early pressure in Liam Coen's second season
Jared Verse, the centerpiece return in the Myles Garrett trade, making his Browns debut rushing the passer for new DC Mike Rutenberg against a Jaguars offensive line that's been banged up all camp (LT Cole Van Lanen just off PUP, Patrick Mekari limited)
Travis Hunter, back from the torn LCL that cost him 10 games in 2025, and Brian Thomas Jr. against a Cleveland secondary now playing behind a defense that lost its longtime centerpiece up front
Cleveland's remade receiving corps -- rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston plus second-year wideout Isaiah Bond -- trying to produce quickly for Deshaun Watson, tabbed to start Week 1 ahead of Shedeur Sanders, against Jacksonville's defense

Injury Report

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah · CLE LB
Reserve/PUP
Placed on reserve/PUP list and set to miss a second straight season due to a lingering neck injury suffered in October 2024.
Maliek Collins · CLE DT
Questionable
Entered camp with uncertain status while recovering from a Week 13 2025 knee injury that ended his prior season early.
Cole Van Lanen · JAX LT
Activated from PUP
Opened camp on the PUP list following a knee injury suffered in the Week 18 finale vs. Tennessee; since activated and expected on track to start Week 1.
Patrick Mekari · JAX OL
Limited
Dealing with a back injury; has not been a full participant or taken team-drill snaps in camp to date.
Jack Kiser · JAX LB
Out
Sustained a knee injury on the first day of training camp practice.
Garrett DiGiorgio · JAX OL
PUP
Opened training camp on the Active/PUP list.

Series History

All-time: Jacksonville leads the all-time regular-season series 12-8 across 20 meetings; the two clubs have never met in the playoffs. Because Cleveland (AFC North) and Jacksonville (AFC South) sit in different divisions, they only cross paths every few years via the scheduling rotation.

Last meeting: The teams last met September 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, where the Browns won 18-13 -- Deshaun Watson ran for a touchdown and Dustin Hopkins made three field goals in a Week 2 road win, one of the few bright spots in a Watson season that later ended with a torn Achilles.

· Jacksonville's 48-0 rout of Cleveland on December 3, 2000 remains the most lopsided result in series history.
· The Browns have won three straight meetings in the series, including a 31-27 home win in December 2023 and the 18-13 road win in September 2024, a reversal after years of Jaguars dominance in the head-to-head.

Weather

Forecast not yet available this far out — check back closer to kickoff. EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville is an open-air stadium; early-September afternoon games there commonly see heat and humidity.

Records & Rankings on the Line

· Jacksonville enters at No. 17 in the power rankings coming off a 13-4, AFC South-winning 2025 season; Cleveland sits at No. 29, among the lowest-ranked teams in the league, with a preseason win total around 5.5.
· The Jaguars are chasing the franchise's first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1998-1999 under second-year coach Liam Coen.
· Cleveland brings a 3-game winning streak in this series into the game, but does so amid a full rebuild -- new head coach, a traded defensive centerpiece in Myles Garrett, and an unresolved Watson-Sanders QB competition.