Cleveland Browns 2022 NFL schedule: 5 must-win games

Cleveland Browns must-win game No. 2: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

For a brief period of time, it seemed like the Browns would be able to easily win this game over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But then Tom Brady unretired, and this ended up becoming one of the most important games on Cleveland’s schedule.

The reason this game is so important is because it will provide a real measuring stick for the Browns to see just how they stack up against a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the Bucs. They won it all in 2020, and had they beaten the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round last year, they would have had a real shot of doing it again.

Brady has made Tampa’s offense his own, and he still has a solid complement of skill players alongside him, even if Rob Gronkowski ultimately ends up retiring. On the other side of the ball, the Buccaneers still have pretty much the same group of players they have had for the past few seasons, and continuity can be huge in the NFL.

Tampa isn’t a fantastic matchup for Cleveland, and this is probably going to be one of the toughest games on their schedule. But if they can win this game, that would cement their status as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.