ATLANTA — By way of the primary month of the season, the Cleveland Browns had one of many NFL’s softest schedules.

The fourth-softest, in keeping with ESPN’s Soccer Energy Index.

Going ahead, Cleveland will face one of many hardest remaining schedules within the league.

The second-toughest, in reality, in keeping with FPI — highlighted by a monster upcoming seven-game gauntlet that includes a sequence of playoff hopefuls and Tremendous Bowl contenders, which incorporates 5 of FPI’s prime eight ranked groups.

In falling to the Falcons on Sunday — preceded by a Week 2 collapse in opposition to the Jets — the Browns squandered a primary alternative to capitalize on a positive early schedule. Now, Cleveland must knock off among the league’s prime groups within the coming weeks to have any hope of hanging round within the rugged AFC playoff image.

“We simply gotta take it week-by-week,” mentioned operating again Kareem Hunt. “We all know we are able to play with the perfect of the perfect. We’re gonna discover a technique to bounce again and recover from this [loss].”

That gained’t be simple.

The Browns simply went 2-2 in opposition to the quarterback quartet of Baker Mayfield, Joe Flacco, Mitchell Trubisky and Marcus Mariota.

Mayfield is final within the league in QBR (15.3) by a substantial margin. Flacco is a 37-year-old backup. Trubisky was simply benched in favor of rookie Kenny Pickett. And Mariota accomplished solely seven passes in opposition to Cleveland, tied for the fifth-fewest in a win in Falcons historical past.

Subsequent Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS), the Browns tackle the Chargers and gifted passer Justin Herbert, who’s again to slinging the ball round regardless of struggling a fractured rib cartilage harm earlier this yr. Final season, Hebert handed for 398 yards and totaled 5 touchdowns in a come-from-behind win over Cleveland.

Two weeks after Hebert, the Browns face former MVP Lamar Jackson, then reigning AFC champion Joe Burrow, then MVP betting favourite Josh Allen, then, properly, the GOAT, Tom Brady.

Cleveland may additionally must defend Tua Tagovailoa, who was main the NFL in QBR earlier than struggling a daunting concussion in Thursday’s loss to Burrow and the Bengals; the Browns don’t journey to Miami till Nov. 13.

“Obtained to get again to the fundamentals,” mentioned linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, of a Browns protection that now ranks simply twenty eighth within the league in effectivity. “Obtained to get takeaways. … ensure that to concentrate on these issues that we centered on in camp.”

The silver lining for the Browns is that they continue to be tied for the lead within the AFC North, alongside the Bengals and Ravens.

However contemplating Baltimore’s two losses got here in opposition to Buffalo and Miami (and the Ravens led huge in each video games) Cleveland’s present first-place standing shouldn’t really feel too reassuring.

“Simply gotta play to your potential,” mentioned Browns wideout Amari Cooper. “That’s all you’ll be able to actually do.”

Suspended quarterback Deshaun Watson will probably be allowed to re-enter the Browns coaching facility subsequent Monday. However Watson, who violated the NFL’s private conduct coverage by partaking in sexual assault throughout therapeutic massage classes, gained’t be allowed to start practising once more till Nov. 14. He isn’t eligible to play till Week 13, when the Browns journey to the Houston Texans, both.

Can the Browns keep afloat till then? Or will the season be teetering?

It would already be teetering due to who the Browns have misplaced to thus far, and who they now must beat.

“Our plan is one week at a time,” mentioned quarterback Jacoby Brissett. “For us to take a look at the remaining schedule. … that’s simply not who we’re. And we gained’t do this. We’ve simply gotta study from this [loss] and prepare for subsequent week.”