Green Bay Packers, not Browns, will open NFL season against Eagles in Sao Paolo, Brazil

The Browns won't be opening the season in Brazil.

The NFL announced the Green Bay Packers will be the Philadelphia Eagles' opponent for the season-opening game on Friday, Sept. 6, in Sao Paolo, Brazil. It'll be the league's first game in South America.

The game, which will be streamed exclusively on Peacock, will be the first Friday night season opener for the NFL in 54 years. The then-St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams opened that season on Sept. 18, 1970.

The Browns had been linked as a potential option for the game from the moment the Eagles were announced as the designated home team in early February. The team was public in its desire to play in the game, which would've been just the second regular-season game the Browns have played internationally.

Multiple members of the Browns organization and Packers team president Mark Murphy confirmed during the owners meetings in Orlando, Fla., last month there were the two teams being considered. There had been some talk of potentially the Atlanta Falcons being in the mix at one point, but they weren't among the final two considered.

"Honestly, we would love to be in one of those games," Browns general manager Andrew Berry told a small group of beat writers, including the Beacon Journal, at the owners meetings. "We've made no secret about it. I don't want to do anything that messes up those chances."

Have the Browns played in London or overseas before?

Both the Browns and the Packers have only played one international regular-season game in their history, both of those in London. Cleveland lost to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8 of the 2017 season, while Green Bay lost to the New York Giants in Week 5 of the 2022 season.

The NFL, when it went to the 17-game regular-season schedule in 2021, mandated that every team play in at least one game internationally between 2022 and 2029. Green Bay had already, technically, met that requirement, while the Browns remain outside of that window.

The Brazil game is the first of five regular-season games being played internationally this year. The Browns remain a candidate for another, as they could be chosen to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in a to-be-determined game in Wembley Stadium in London.

Cleveland is scheduled to go to Jacksonville this season, and the Jaguars' opponent will be determined from the eight teams they are supposed host this season. The other seven include their three AFC South rivals — Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans — as well as the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Packers and Vikings.

The Vikings are already scheduled to be the designated home team for one of two games this season at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Chicago Bears be the home team for the other Tottenham game. The Carolina Panthers are the home team for a game to be played at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.

The Patriots, Colts and Titans all played games in Europe last season. The Jets last played overseas in 2021, while the Texans last did so in 2020, Deshaun Watson's last Pro Bowl season at quarterback for them.

The fact the Browns won't be opening in Brazil means there's a high probability they will be playing Week 1 at home for the second consecutive season, and for the 19th time since 1999. Cleveland Browns Stadium will host a concert with Billy Joel and Rod Stewart on Friday, Sept. 13, which would likely preclude the Browns playing a Week 2 home game, unless it was potentially on Monday night.

Seven teams over the last two seasons have started with back-to-back road games. However, it seems highly unlikely that would happen for the Browns.

The last time the Browns opened the season with consecutive road games was in 1986, when they played at the Chicago Bears and the Houston Oilers. Cleveland went 12-4 that season, winning the AFC Central before losing in overtime to the Denver Broncos — "The Drive" game — in the AFC championship game.

When will the NFL release the 2024 schedule?

The NFL has not set an official release date yet for the full schedule. It typically occurs in early May.

The Browns have nine road opponents this upcoming season. They will play at their three AFC North rivals — Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers — as well as at the Jaguars, Washington Commanders, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints.

The Ravens, Bengals and Steelers all visit Cleveland as division rivals. The Browns also will get a star-studded non-division home schedule featuring the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, as well as the Cowboys, Giants, Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers.

"I mean, if you're a fan, we have an unbelievable home schedule," Browns owner Jimmy Haslam told a small group of beat writers, including the Beacon Journal, at the owners meetings. "We have our three division rivals, all of whom are exciting games. Then we have Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, we have the Cowboys, we have Jim Harbaugh coming. So we'll have both Harbaughs coming. … I don't think Cleveland's ever had a schedule like that. And so it is going to be exciting, but which game is easy?"

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: Packers, not Browns, picked to open NFL season vs. Eagles in Brazil