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Browns bound for Brazil? 4 reasons why Cleveland could open up against Eagles in Sao Paulo
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- Browns bound for Brazil? 4 reasons why Cleveland could open up against Eagles in Sao Paulo
The NFL dropped a bit of important news earlier in the week when it announced the Philadelphia Eagles will open next season by playing a home game in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The game, to be played Friday, Sept. 6, will be part of the league's ever-expanding International Games, one of five to be played next season. There will be three played in London, England, plus another played in Munich, Germany.
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The opponent for the Eagles has yet to be named, although it will come from a pool of nine teams they were scheduled to play at home. One of the nine teams is the Browns , along with the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , Jacksonville Jaguars , Pittsburgh Steelers , Dallas Cowboys , New York Giants and Washington Commanders .
How realistic would it be for the NFL to match the Browns and Eagles in a standalone game that will be the league's first game in Brazil and the first Friday night opener since 1970? More realistic than you would think at first glance.
Will it happen? That remains to be seen when the NFL eventually announces the International Games at some point around the same time it announces the full 2024 schedule in early May.
Until then, let's dive into a few reasons why it would make sense for the Browns to open the season in Brazil.
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It's been a while since the Browns played an international game
There have been 50 regular-season games played internationally since the first one in 2005. The Browns have appeared in just one, losing — as they did to everyone that year — in 2017 to the Minnesota Vikings in London.
That's seven years ago, which can be seen as an eternity in the NFL's eyes. The fact it's only played once before internationally also could factor into the mix.
Keep this in mind for another road opponent for the Browns next season: Jacksonville. The Jaguars play one home game a season in London, and Cleveland is one of the teams the Jaguars are scheduled to host this fall.
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It's never been a better time to put the Browns in an international game
The fact of the matter is the Browns are coming off a big season. They went 11-6 and reached the playoffs, and then had four individuals take home major NFL awards.
The Browns have some star power on their roster with players like Myles Garrett . They have a big enough fan base to draw some viewers. And, they're actually not coming off a mediocre-to-bad season as has been the case most of the time the NFL has played games in other countries.
This team is going to get a couple of primetime television spots. The NFL could hedge its bets against a potential collapse — which, to be fair, has happened before to Browns teams coming off big seasons — by getting one of those out of the way in Week 1.
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Process of elimination works makes the Browns one of the options
It's not that the NFL has never put a divisional game internationally, because it has before. It just doesn't prefer to do that due to competitive balance reasons when both teams get a home game against each other.
While the Cowboys, Giants and, even, Commanders would make sense to be the opponent, it's easy to see why the NFL would also avoid making that the game. So check those off potentially.
Sept. 25, 2016: Jason Kelce has words for the Pittsburgh Steelers' Anthony Chickillo after the linebacker tackled Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz during a game at Lincoln Financial Field.
The question for the Falcons and Packers is how much weight does having each played in London within the past two seasons mean for an International Game played in South America instead of across the Atlantic Ocean? Sao Paolo is two hours ahead of Atlanta, and three ahead of Green Bay , not the five- or six-hour difference it would be to London.
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Jacksonville already is playing a home game on the road, likely in October. They did also play a road game in London this past season along with a home game, but it seems unlikely they would do that again next season.
Which leaves just the Browns' AFC North rivals, the Steelers. It's been pointed out by Philadelphia-area writers that the Eagles, even with a season's worth of sellouts already, don't want to sacrifice an actual home game against Pittsburgh for multiple obvious reasons.
Billy Joel and Rod Stewart aren't a guarantee for the Browns to open at home
The Browns announced a major concert at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Friday, Sept. 13, involving Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Billy Joel and Rod Stewart. When it was announced, it was assumed the team would open the season at home because the Sunday after the concert, in Week 2, would be a road game.
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Not so fast. The NFL's not afraid to put teams on the road for back-to-back weeks to open the season.
Billy Joel will perform at Cleveland Browns Stadium in September.
The Miami Dolphins , Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders all opened with consecutive road games last season. The season before that, the Indianapolis Colts , New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers each opened with two road games in a row.
The Browns may open at home. Or they may open in Brazil. But two aging musicians in their mid to upper 70s aren't necessarily going to dictate that decision.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns bound for Brazil? 4 reasons why Cleveland could open vs. Eagles
