The Cleveland Browns will return to the practice field on Wednesday riding a high, tied with the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North at 3-1 with a gettable road game on deck against the New York Jets.
The NFL's most recent game, Atlanta vs. New Orleans on Monday Night Football, should put an end to one of the most played-out narratives from the Browns’ busy offseason, though.
The vibes are high in Cleveland and the team seems to be feeding off the energy of head coach Todd Monken. That doesn’t mean that Kevin Stefanski couldn't coach, and he’s definitely proving that right now with the Falcons.
Kevin Stefanski's Falcons resurgence proves he was never the Browns' only problem
Stefanski’s Falcons, with former Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees calling the plays, have been piling up points since starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was cleared to start in Week 3. Atlanta is 2-0 with Penix under center and has scored 80 points in his two starts.
The Falcons aren’t winning with elite quarterback play, though. They’re winning with respectable quarterback play and the most dominant rushing attack in football.
Atlanta has climbed near the top of the NFL in rushing yards per game (second), rushing first downs per game (first), rushing touchdowns per game (third), and rush-play percentage (first). And that’s including Weeks 1 and 2, when the offense was stuck in quicksand with third-string quarterback Cooper Rush as the starter.
Todd Monken would love to own the Falcons’ most telling rushing stat
The Falcons’ rush-play percentage of 56.5 is the most telling stat when you compare it to Monken’s first four games with the Browns. The Ravens routinely led the NFL in that stat with Monken as offensive coordinator. Baltimore finished the 2025 regular season No. 1 as the only team that rushed the ball on over 50% of its plays.
Cleveland’s rush-play percentage entering Week 5 is 44.5%, which ranks 17th in football. The Browns’ rushing attack has struggled to the point where Monken has used more shotgun and quick-game concepts with Deshaun Watson to help supplement that missing production. According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Browns have used the eighth-highest shotgun rate at 67.1% of plays this season.
It’s not just the personnel, although that’s certainly part of it. The Falcons have the league’s best running back in Bijan Robinson. He's averaging 5.8 yards per carry and already has 494 rushing yards and six total touchdowns. Atlanta also has one of the NFL's best guards in Chris Lindstrom.
The Browns have an ascending offensive line and capable young back in Quinshon Judkins, but Judkins currently has fewer rushing yards and rushing touchdowns and a lower yards-per-carry average than Brian Robinson Jr., Atlanta’s No. 2 running back. Robinson Jr. has 44 rush attempts to Judkins’ 59 on the season, too.
Cleveland has three exciting wins under its belt, all featuring game-winning drives engineered by Watson and fueled by the passing game. That’s obviously not a sustainable formula. The Browns will need to unlock their rushing offense to get there. That's Monken's game.
Would the Browns’ offense look better this season with Stefanski and Rees still at their former posts, working with the team’s new-look group of linemen and skill position talent? That would be taking it too far.
But two things can be true: Stefanski’s message had run stale with the Browns after six seasons, and he's also a two-time NFL Coach of the Year for a reason.
Stefanski is proving that he was far from the only problem in Cleveland during the franchise’s 8-26 stretch from 2024-25. It might already be time to put that tired narrative to bed.
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