Cleveland Browns: Kevin Stefanski’s response to loss gives reason to believe

The Cleveland Browns coach doesn’t want moral victories

The last time the Cleveland Browns played on Monday Night Football, they were stunned by the San Fransisco 49ers in Week 5 of last year.

Late Monday night, the Browns were dissapointed again in primetime against divisional rival Baltimore Ravens. This time, though, there’s a sense of growth.

But that growth is not enough for rookie head coach Kevin Stefanski.

“I don’t want to go down the moral victories path,” Stefanski said postgame. “We lost. We got beat.”

Sure, the Browns came out on the losing side of a 47-42 shootout with the Ravens, but Monday night proved this is a new Browns team that is as good as advertised.

After quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a third-quarter interception, leading to a Ravens score, the Browns found themselves in a big hole, down two touchdowns against the reigning MVP. A familiar feeling, as the Ravens routed the Browns 38-6 to kick off the 2020 season.

This time, it was different. The Browns fought back.

After throwing the interception that pushed Baltimore’s lead to 34-20, Mayfield was 12-of-15 with two touchdowns, including a masterful drive with under two minutes remaining, where the Browns arguably moved the ball and scored too quickly, a problem foreign to the franchise for the last two decades.

It seemed as if the Browns had stolen the momentum, with Lamar Jackson in the locker room dealing with cramps and backup Trace McSorely being helped off the field with a knee injury. The new Browns were on the brink of inching one step closer to the playoffs, and eliminating their former selves from contention in the process.

Then, Jackson trotted back onto the field from the locker room, Paul Pierce style, creating a masterful drive of his own, and setting up a Justin Tucker field goal to win the game.

“It was like a scene out of a movie,” Mayfield said of the dramatic ending.

Last season, when the “Super Bowl hopeful” Browns were exposed on Monday Night Football, the feeling was much different afterwards. Mayfield was prickly after Nick Bosa planted an invisible flag over him. Freddie Kitchens was officially debunked. Odell Beckham Jr. told 49er’s quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, “I’ll come here.”

Don’t tell Stefanski, but Monday night was not that bad for these Browns.

"“We just have to build on the fact that this team fights,” Mayfield said. “I am really proud of this team for fighting. That is what I would take out of this game, but we just have to be better.”"

The arrow still trends upwards on this Browns team, while so many teams around the league are beginning to trend downwards. Despite the loss, the Browns still hold the top Wild Card spot. They’ve proved they can exchange blows with top squads in the NFL. They need to learn to secure victories, and they have three more games to learn from in the regular season.

“I appreciate how the guys battled, but we just did not do enough to get a win,” Stefanski said. “We will own this, and we will move on and put all of our efforts into next week.”

The Browns should be proud of how they fought, but the head coach knows they could have done more. That’s why it’s easy to believe in this team even after a tough loss.