The Browns are 1-0 for the first time in a long time.
Cleveland earned a road victory against the Panthers and former franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield, 26-24, on Sunday to end an embarrassing streak of season-opening futility.
Cade York boomed a 58-yard field goal in the final minute to account for the winning points. Jacoby Brissett completed 18 of 34 passes for 147 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions. Nick Chubb rushed for 141 yards, and Kareem Hunt added 46 rushing yards and a touchdown run. Mayfield completed 16 of 27 passes for 235 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception for host Carolina.
The win marked the Browns’ first season-opening victory in 18 years. The last time Cleveland won its season opener was 2004, when the Browns beat the Ravens, 20-3, under coach Butch Davis.
Since then, Cleveland has employed no fewer than 11 head coaches: Davis, Terry Robiskie (interim), Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, Hugh Jackson, Gregg Williams (interim), Freddie Kitchens and Kevin Stefanski.
The 17-year winless streak by the Browns in Week 1 games is an NFL record by a wide margin. The second-longest such streaks belong to Philadelphia (1968-76) and Washington (1959-67) at nine games.
Cleveland Browns’ season-opening winless streak
2005: Lost vs. Bengals, 27-13
2006: Lost vs. Saints, 19-14
2007: Lost vs. Steelers, 34-7
2008: Lost vs. Cowboys, 28-10
2009: Lost vs. Vikings, 34-20
2010: Lost at Buccaneers, 17-14
2011: Lost vs. Bengals, 27-17
2012: Lost vs. Eagles, 17-16
2013: Lost vs. Dolphins, 23-10
2014: Lost at Steelers, 30-27
2015: Lost at Jets, 31-10
2016: Lost at Eagles, 29-10
2017: Lost vs. Steelers, 21-18
2018: Tied vs. Steelers, 21-21
2019: Lost vs. Titans, 43-13
2020: Lost at Ravens, 38-6
2021: Lost at Chiefs, 33-29
More NFL Coverage:
- The NFL Head Coaches With the Most and Least Job Security
- The Bills Have Become the Team Everyone Thought They’d Be
- MMQB’s NFL Week 1 Primer: Best Games, Key Questions, Predictions
For more Cleveland Browns coverage, visit Browns Digest.
