As everybody would've expected at this point in the season, the Cleveland Browns head into a huge showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8. Cleveland enters the contest with a 5-2 record and will hope to land an elusive road victory in Pittsburgh for the first time since the 2003 regular season.
Regardless of how Sunday plays out, Cleveland has had plenty to be thankful for this season. This tough-minded bunch has had several gutty wins, and for Browns fans, it’s been remarkable to watch this Cleveland team pull out victories, just as it did after a disappointing start last week at the Tennessee Titans.
Recently, Jason La Canfora of FanSided gave the Browns some recognition, slotting Cleveland in at No. 10 in his Week 8 NFL Power Rankings. He gave them and Todd Monken quite a shoutout there, demonstrating how this young Cleveland squad is maturing and is not going away.
"Todd Monken is the NFL Coach of the Year in the first half and it's not close. His quarterback wanted to quit on him before the season and now all he does is find ways to win games from behind. This was no Mona Lisa against the Titans, but it was a game they desperately need to keep the confidence and momentum going after a brutal start. These Brownies are plucky."
Todd Monken is making an undeniable case for NFL Coach of the Year
Make no mistake, the Browns have plenty to clean up if they want to solidify themselves as a playoff team, let alone a division winner. Cleveland has had the second-most accepted penalties against it in the league, behind only the Green Bay Packers, who have already played one more game.
Along those same lines, Cleveland is 23rd in yards per play and is 27th in offensive EPA per play, per SumerSports. The Browns are still making life difficult for themselves, as the fan base would attest.
Those things aside, Cleveland is finding ways to win, and Monken has this group believing in something bigger. Monken holding himself and others accountable is a message that's landing. To La Canfora’s point, Monken is more than deserving of Coach of the Year at this juncture.
The Browns have been far from perfect, but they've hung in there. Deshaun Watson has continued to display poise in late-game situations, and the defense has often delivered. Carson Schwesinger, Denzel Ward and company have come up with some timely turnovers in recent weeks as well, which has factored well into wins. The pass rush has typically been a constant in helping Cleveland land victories, even if that wasn't necessarily shown last week.
Cleveland is also one of the league’s youngest teams, and coming into the season, it was understandable to have expectations that the Browns wouldn’t win many games. Instead, Cleveland has already matched its win total from 2025 just seven weeks into 2026, and Monken’s message is clearly paying off in a big way.
Whether the Browns will continue to resemble a top 10 squad week to week from here is relatively unknown at this point. This team clearly has a ways to go when it comes to being a four-quarter squad in terms of consistent play, and let's not dismiss how the AFC North is going to be competitive throughout the rest of the year.
Cleveland has a big showdown at bitter rival Pittsburgh on Sunday in a duel of 5-2 teams. The Cincinnati Bengals, No. 9 in La Canfora's rankings, are beginning to roll. The Ravens sit fourth in the division, but they're above .500 and are about to get Lamar Jackson back.
Despite those concerns, this Cleveland team is indeed “plucky," as La Canfora put it.
That’s surely something to build on. However, it’s time to see how this group can handle success and maybe even some, dare one say, expectations. Buckle up, Browns fans: This might just be the beginning of a heck of a ride from here on out.
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