5 Browns Storylines To Watch for Against the Jaguars

September arrived and now the games matter. The Cleveland Browns are heading south to begin the 2026 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Browns are underdogs by 8.5 points, but there are plenty of reasons to tune in and pay attention to the orange and brown’s first game. Here are five storylines to pay attention to during the first sixty minutes of the season:

Monken's Debut

Head coach Todd Monken takes to the sideline for his first regular season game at 60 years old. Monken has been loud and coarse during his first training camp, even letting his emotions get the best of him in practices. Can Monken be level headed on the sideline and keep the team under control during adversities?

Monken has been an offensive coordinator for three NFL teams, but he has never called plays from the sideline. He also has not had to worry about challenging calls, calling timeouts, and working the refs. Sunday will present Monken his first chance to adjust to the added responsibilities on the sideline. Something to watch for will be how smooth the offense looks and how timeouts will be used at the end of halves. If Monken can control the team and his offense looks like a well oiled machine, then the Browns will challenge the Jaguars.

Can Watson Look Elementary?

One of Monken’s first tough decisions as head coach was to start Watson over Shedeur Sanders. Watson has not played since 2024 and did not inspire hope in the preseason. However, it is the regular season and these snaps matter. The playbook opens up and he will have the starting line and skill positions by his side. The last game he came back after a lengthy time away, he threw ground balls to the receivers.

It will be important to watch if Watson can feel comfortable throwing the football. No one is expecting a 300-yard game, or even a 250-yard game, but can Watson protect the ball and just do enough to keep the chains moving? The time is now to prove his doubters wrong.

The Jaredverse

In no universe did anyone think that the Browns would get a one for one value with the Myles Garrett trade. However, Garrett had one of the worst games of the season for the Los Angeles Rams last Thursday, recording zero sacks and zero tackles in a 20-point loss. Moving on from Garrett for only one first-round pick was controversial, but if Verse can put together a productive stat line, then the value looks more and more justified.

The Jaguars’ offensive line is middle of the road and if the Browns have a chance to compete in the game then Verse will need to wreak havoc in the backfield and record some tackles for loss to make them play behind the chains. Verse came into Cleveland with a great attitude and instantly became a leader on defense. The Browns will need that leadership to organize a defense led by first-time coordinator, Mike Rutenberg. Can Verse prove that the Browns swindled the Rams in the trade? Only in the Jaredverse.

The Offensive Line

The Browns replaced all five spots on the offensive line in the offseason. They will be starting two rookies. They will have their hands full against a good Jaguars defense led by defensive end, Joshua Hines-Allen. If Spencer Fano can handle him, then there will not be too many defensive ends in the league that will give him fits. There were concerns about Fano’s size for the position coming out of college. Fano against an aggressive defensive line will be something to watch on Sunday.

Austin Barber got thrown into the starting five after an injury to Teven Jenkins. The entire line has not played together in a regular season game. The Browns will need to establish a running game to ease the pressure off of Deshaun Watson moving the chains with his arm.

The Operation

With a completely new offense, new coaches, and new players the Browns could struggle with getting lined up, understanding the playcall, and breaking the huddle. It was reported that Watson was tapped to start as he is a veteran that was better at getting the team lined up. Monken wants to use motion and cadence to provide advantages for the offense and Watson provided a better opportunity at that.

Watching the Browns getting out of the huddle and set at the line with eight to nine seconds left on the play clock will provide insight in the understanding of Monken’s offense. Should the Browns have to waste timeouts due to discombobulation at the line of scrimmage, then they will not have much of a chance to move the ball against the Jaguars.

The Browns secondary is important to communicate to prevent any breakdowns. Ex-coordinator Jim Schwartz let the cornerbacks play man coverage while Garrett got to the quarterback. Both are gone and the Browns will run more zone coverage. The operation with Mike Rutenberg and the defensive backs will be key to staving off a high-flying Jaguars offense.

So while the Browns are not favored in the game and it will be a challenge to keep up with Jacksonville, Sunday's score will not define the 2026 season, but it will provide clarity on what was worked on in Berea all summer.

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