The vibes are extremely high for the 2-1 Cleveland Browns, who have a major opportunity to slay a bitter division rival at home on Thursday Night Football and sit atop the AFC North standings to kick off Week 4.
But while the Browns are technically a winning football team through three games, the fashion in which they’re winning is unsustainable. And it starts with their lovable head coach.
One unacceptable stat shows the rookie nature of Todd Monken and his top coordinators. The Browns have been flagged for 34 penalties in their three games, which is the second-highest mark in the NFL.
Per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, the Browns were flagged more times in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers (14) than any game since Week 6 of the 2023 season. Only 12 of those flags were accepted, but what was said to be a point of emphasis for Monken and his young team back in training camp is getting worse by the numbers.
The Browns can't keep winning while committing this many self-inflicted mistakes
Not to be a Debbie Downer — because these past two weeks have been fun for Browns fans — but there’s been a luck factor with each of Cleveland’s wins that’s impossible to ignore.
The Browns have faced fourth-quarter deficits in both games, 16-13 to Tampa Bay and 18-13 to Carolina. Quarterback Deshaun Watson led a go-ahead scoring drive each time with the defense closing the door late.
Cleveland is currently a top-15 team in football in second-half scoring. Who had that on their Bingo card entering the season?
Monken’s favorite line so far this season has been: “We’re going to be a damn good football team once Browns stop hurting Browns, and we’re going to fight like hell to fix it.”
That sounds great during a postgame presser, especially after a wild win in the home opener with backwards-hat Monken soaking it all in. But “fight like hell to fix it” are just words.
The Browns' penalty problem is getting worse instead of better
The Browns aren’t making progress with their penalty problem, which starts with Monken’s offense. Tytus Howard, Cleveland’s $45 million right tackle, drew three flags on one drive, and was called for three false start penalties overall against the Panthers.
The Browns had three flags for illegal formation or motion. Denzel Boston had an explosive catch and run down to the Panthers 11 in the second quarter; rookie Spencer Fano was called for holding and the Browns ended up going backwards from there and punting on that drive.
Nothing screams first-time NFL head coach like questionable clock and game management decisions, and penalties. The Browns have been kind of brutal in all three of those areas through the month of September.
Monken’s going to fight like hell to fix it. Until that happens, it’s hard to view the Browns’ hot start as anything other than smoke and mirrors, as fun as it’s been so far.
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