The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need their first win of the 2026 season, and the Cleveland Browns present a golden opportunity in Week 2. Cleveland showed plenty of vulnerabilities in its season opener, and if the Bucs target the right matchups, they should take care of business on Sunday. 

Every team has strengths and weaknesses, but game planning revolves around attacking what an opponent can’t do effectively. The Browns have their own strengths, even if said strengths are on the smaller side of the scale after Week 1, but they also have plenty of soft spots for the Buccaneers to target. 

Browns nickel corner Myles Harden is a matchup the Buccaneers can’t ignore

Per PFF, Harden was targeted four times in Week 1. All four targets resulted in receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. That’s about as exploitable as it gets for a slot defender.

The Buccaneers were already pretty effective from the slot in their opener. Slot targets went to multiple receivers: Chris Godwin hauled in three catches for 35 yards, Emeka Egbuka added one for 10, and Ted Hurst grabbed one for 12. Overall there were seven total slot targets and they produced five receptions for 57 yards.

Now factor in Jalen McMillan’s potential return. McMillan, who is labeled a game-time decision by Todd Bowles, was Tampa Bay’s top slot receiver last season, with 25% of his targets coming from the inside, which led the team. He’s practiced in full capacity all week and looks ready to go.

His presence would take significant heat off Godwin and Egbuka. Remember, Egbuka had a solid first half against the Bengals but disappeared in the second half because Cincinnati adjusted its coverage looks and clamped down. As Baker Mayfield noted, it wasn’t like Cincinnati was rolling two or three defenders to his side every snap, but the focus was enough to take Egbuka completely out of the game.

That won’t happen if McMillan is back on the field. A healthy receiver corps creates a trickle-down effect: success from the inside loosens up the defense, forces the Browns into more split-safety looks, and lightens the box for Tampa Bay’s run game.

Browns’ pass rush could have a long day against the Buccaneers offensive

The Browns pass rush did nothing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. Defensive tackle Mason Graham was the only disruptor out of Cleveland’s entire arsenal. Jared Verse, who came over from the Los Angeles Rams in the Myles Garrett trade, posted zero pressures on 16 pass rush snaps. He had more penalties than pressures against Jacksonville.

The Jaguars neutralized Verse through a mix of double teams and chips. If the Buccaneers can replicate that approach, they remove a major pass rush factor from the equation.

The numbers tell the story regarding the Browns’ pass rush. Per NextGenStats, Trevor Lawrence was pressured at the third-lowest rate in Week 1 at 24%. He was sacked just once, and that sack fell on the offensive line rather than any mistake from Lawrence. He posted a 2.98-second time to throw, which is well above the league average of 2.75 seconds and represented the 10th-longest TTT in Week 1.

Lawrence had time to sit back, let deep routes develop, and take shots down the field. That included a deep touchdown to Parker Washington. All of this came against the fifth-lowest blitz rate in the league. Cleveland’s defensive coordinator comes from the Robert Saleh school of rushing four and playing zone, and it showed.

Now, the Buccaneers can’t take this for granted. Mayfield was blitzed at the second-lowest rate last week at 11.1% and still finished in the top 10 in pressure rate at 38.9% per NextGenStats, while also taking four sacks. The offensive line has to step up. But Cleveland’s defensive front is nowhere near as talented or accomplished as Cincinnati’s. The Bengals also had extra preparation time against the Bucs’ offensive line, while the Browns only have a few days this week to get ready for Tristan Wirfs and Co.

The Buccaneers offensive line did well in the run game last week, and this matchup presents a real chance to get back to the top-3 to top-5 potential this unit holds on paper.

Deshaun Watson is not the quarterback he used to be

Usually these conversations start with the quarterback, but not many things start with Deshaun Watson in terms of what the Browns are trying to do anymore.

Watson posted a 3.6 completion percentage over expected rate in Week 1, which ranked 16th. He did that on a 10.8 air yards per attempt mark, tied for the fifth highest. But those numbers are inflated and misleading. He attempted deep shots on third-and-25 and second-and-14, situations that demand throwing downfield just to reach the sticks. His lone 40-plus-yard touchdown to Denzel Boston came in garbage time with exactly two minutes left. Watson wasn’t airing it out the way that stat suggests. He actually seemed to refuse deep shots at times on tape, preferring checkdowns and short-to-intermediate throws that didn’t move the offense.

And that adds a layer to the 3.6% CPOE. If he were taking the harder shots downfield on a regular basis then it makes that number a little more digestible. He wasn’t though and that needs to be pointed out.

His legs were somewhat effective, and that’s where the Buccaneers need to stay disciplined. Cleveland utilized zone reads, quarterback draws, and other designed runs. Two Achilles injuries have taken the explosive pop out of Watson’s running game compared to his Houston days. But even gaining seven or eight yards per pop on the ground can put the Browns in short-yardage situations, and anything is possible at that point in the NFL.

The Bucs have to pay Watson some regard. As long as they avoid mistakes on their end, they should be fine. This is a game Tampa Bay should win, and if the Buccaneers exploit these three weaknesses, they’ll grab that first victory of 2026 with little drama.