The Jacksonville Jaguars open the 2026 season on Sunday at home against the Cleveland Browns, and there are a few edges in this matchup that could matter right away.
One of the clearest advantages sits on the sideline. Jacksonville has Liam Coen in place, while Cleveland is handing the headset to Todd Monken for his first game as a head coach.
Both men have built reputations as offensive play-callers, but Coen already has a year of head coaching under his belt, and that matters here. The Jaguars scored 25 or more points in 13 games in 2025 with Coen calling the offense, tying for the NFL lead.
They also rattled off eight straight games with at least 25 points from Weeks 9 through 16, matching the league’s longest such streak last season. Monken had success with the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson, but he enters a tougher spot in Cleveland, where the Browns have gone 8-26 over the last two seasons.
Another place Jacksonville should like its chances is with Parker Washington. The Browns do have cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell among their top four defenders, but neither is expected to line up in the slot against Washington.
That likely leaves Myles Harden, and the numbers from last season are not pretty for him: he allowed a team-high five touchdowns and a 116.5 passer rating in coverage. Washington has been electric since earning a starting role last November, and he looked like the Jaguars’ No. 1 receiver during training camp.
His chemistry with Trevor Lawrence is said to be at an all-time high, and this matchup points toward a long afternoon for Harden.
There’s also the Deshaun Watson factor, and Jacksonville has reason to feel better about this meeting than the one that came before it. The last time Watson won a game he started was Week 2 of the 2024 seaon, when Cleveland escaped Jacksonville with a sloppy 18-13 victory over one of the worst Jaguars teams of the last decade.
Watson threw for just 186 yards on 34 attempts that day, and the Browns’ defense did most of the work. Plenty has changed since then, but Watson is still expected to start against Jacksonville again.
What the Jaguars did not have in that game was Anthony Campanile. His scheme gave quarterbacks problems a year ago, and Watson already comes with turnover issues of his own.
He also gave defenders interceptions this summer and in the preseason. That gives Jacksonville a chance to use Campanile’s system to crowd the picture, force mistakes, and make Watson’s day much harder than it was in that 2024 meeting.
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Jaguars Defense Has A Week 1 Concern Fans Can't Ignore
Anthony Campanile enters his second season running the Jaguars defense with something this staff has wanted for a while: continuity. There is still plenty of adjustment ahead, though, because the secondary is getting a new look with Travis Hunter and Antonio Johnson moving into starting roles, and new defensive pass game coordinator Mathieu Araujo bringing a different coverage scheme into the mix.
The bigger early concern may be what happens behind them. Jacksonville has to replace Devin Lloyd after his departure in free agency, leaving Ventrell Miller and Branson Combs to take on more responsibility at linebacker, while the pass rush still leans heavily on veterans Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen with a young group of backups behind them. On paper, the pieces are there, but the Jaguars will find out quickly in Week 1 whether all of those moving parts are ready at once. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Hunter Just Changed A Big Jaguars Week 1 Debate
The Jaguars first unofficial depth chart for Week 1 offered an early glimpse at how they plan to use Travis Hunter, and it comes with a notable twist. After spending most of the conversation around him as a receiver, Hunter is now listed as a starting cornerback and a backup wide receiver, a sign that Jacksonville is already adjusting its plans based on the shape of its roster on both sides of the ball.
For a team trying to sort out its wide receiver depth while also tightening things up defensively, Hunters placement could matter in more ways than one. His usage may end up influencing not just how the Jaguars line up in the secondary, but also how snaps are distributed in the passing game as the season gets underway. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Already Have A Week 1 QB Issue Jaguars Fans Should Note
The Browns have settled on Deshaun Watson as their Week 1 starter against Jacksonville, but the quarterback picture behind him already looks more fluid than a clean depth chart. Shedeur Sanders is expected to back him up, and the Browns also carried rookie Taylen Green onto the 53-man roster after placing Dillon Gabriel on injured reserve, keeping a young arm in the mix as they head into the opener.
Todd Monken did not sound like a coach intent on keeping Green parked on the sideline for long. He said the rookie could see some playing time in the season opener, praising Greens athleticism and intelligence while also stressing that he still has skills to refine. For the Jaguars, it is a reminder that Week 1 could feature more moving parts at quarterback than the usual opening-day matchup suggests. [Read more 🡒]