On Sunday, Tennessee lost 41-17 to Indianapolis.

Pittsburgh lost to Tampa Bay 27-24. At home.

Jacksonville lost 33-14.

Oakland lost 38-14.

And Tampa Bay ... well it beat Pittsburgh, because either Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay had to win. The game prior to beating the Steelers, Tampa Bay lost 56-14 to Atlanta.

The next five weeks could determine if Brian Hoyer and the Browns will be playoff contenders in 2014. Jeff Haynes/AP Images for Panini

The common denominator between Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Oakland and Tampa Bay? They are the next five teams the Cleveland Browns play, with three of the games at home.

Two of the teams are winless. Two have one win. Pittsburgh has two wins, one over the Browns on a last-play field goal.

If the Browns ever are going to get something accomplished this season, this is the time and these are the teams to do it against. The Browns' defense has struggled, especially against the run, but facing this non-gauntlet of teams presents the defense an excellent chance to find itself. The numbers for the five present a challenge, but also an opportunity.

Combined, these five teams are 4-16, winning just 20 percent of their games. On Sunday, the five gave up 24, 27, 38, 33 and 41 points -- an average of 32.6.

Heading into Monday night, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and Oakland are the league’s three worst-ranked offenses. Tennessee is 17th, but it's without starting quarterback Jake Locker. Pittsburgh has talent, but struggled to beat the Browns in Pittsburgh.

Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Oakland are the league’s four worst scoring offenses. None average more than 15 points per game.

The Browns are 1-2, but coach Mike Pettine said before sending the team away for the bye that it is about as confident a 1-2 team could be.

“I think we’ve proved over the first three weeks that we can win football games in this league, that we’re close,” Pettine said. “As I said, pass-fail league, we failed two out of three, but there’s a different feel to it just because I know our guys have confidence coming out of it and that if we go out and execute a game plan that we can beat any team in this league.”

If that’s true, the Browns have a prime opportunity in the next five weeks to establish themselves as more than just another team trying to win, more than the pretenders they have been the past six seasons.

A year ago, the Browns talked about playing a meaningful game in a trip to Cincinnati and fell flat. The rest of the season went south in a hurry.

But the circumstances a year ago were different. The team had no running game whatsoever. Brian Hoyer was hurt; Jason Campbell was at quarterback. The team was so fragile that it couldn’t withstand one really bad quarter against the Bengals.

This season the Browns came back from 24 down at halftime to tie Pittsburgh, before eventually losing 30-27. They have two difficult losses, but much to build on. The running game could be a strength and Hoyer has played well. The defense has struggled, but Pettine and the assistant coaches believe in their scheme and promise it can and will work if the players trust it.

The one player missing this season is Josh Gordon, who remains suspended for the first 10 games of the season. But if the Browns can get something accomplished in the next five games against teams that are 4-16, it can build something positive for when Gordon returns.

The Browns have an opportunity the next five games.

If they are going to make something of this season, it has to start with these five games.