In the aftermath of a second straight fourth-quarter comeback, Todd Monken emerged from the locker room with his hat turned backwards, put two hands on the podium, and delivered a two-minute opening statement that felt more like a movie audition than a postgame press conference.
The Cleveland Browns' first-year head coach is reveling in the moment. His young but talented team hasn’t come close to playing its best four quarters, at least in terms of complementary football, but the Browns are 2-1 with a chance to take sole possession of first place in the AFC North entering Thursday night's home showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The first-place Browns? When Monken learned from reporters that Pittsburgh had knocked off Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon, bringing all four teams in the division, including Baltimore, to 2-1, he gave fans the latest soundbite in what’s been a season full of them already:
“So, what are we, all tied at first?” Monken said, as if he was sitting on a barstool talking to Browns fans. “We’re all in first place? So, right, so we’re playing for first place. Holy s—, isn’t that cool or what? I mean, so our guys, we’re ready to rock and roll. We’ll be good to go. But appreciate the fans, you know, and we’re not perfect. We’re not. Coaching or playing. But we’re going to fight like hell to get there. I promise you.”
Seriously, how can you not love Todd Monken?
That aw-shucks moment actually took on added meaning Monday when Browns reporter Daniel Oyefusi shared a telling stat. Teams that start the season 3-1? They make the playoffs over 65% of the time.
Cleveland has a real chance to mess around and find themselves somewhere no one expected when Myles Garrett was traded back on June 1: In the hunt.
The Browns' vibes entering Steelers week could not be more refreshing: All football, no draft talk
There will be a segment of the fan base that seriously believes winning games with Deshaun Watson at quarterback this season will do the team more harm than good, as each win pushes the Browns’ draft slot further down the board.
With all due respect, that’s one of the lamest takes in modern-day sports.
Everyone loves the draft, but accepting losses now for a hypothetical draft pick in seven months is not what Cleveland’s coaches, players, or fans should ever accept.
Watson’s comeback has given these past two weeks some juice, but it doesn’t change the timeline. He’s certainly not playing well enough to justify altering a plan that’s been in place since December of 2024. Come March of 2027, Watson will be released with a post-June 1 designation due to the unavoidable salary cap penalties baked into his fully-guaranteed (and already heavily restructured) contract.
But that doesn’t mean winning games with Watson this season is a bad thing.
Browns fans should want more Monken with a backwards hat after wins. Cleveland has a wealth of young talent, and establishing a winning culture is hard. The more the Browns’ young core develops and learns how to win now will only help the team hit the ground running when Shedeur Sanders or "Player X" takes over in 2027 and beyond.
The Browns don't need a top-10 pick to keep building for the future
If the Browns’ season ended right now, their draft slot would be 18th, per NFL Tankathon. In the hypothetical world where the Browns take advantage of their many winnable home games down the stretch and finish somewhere in the teens, they would miss out on Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and the top quarterback prospects like Arch Manning and Dante Moore.
And the Browns would be fine in that scenario.
They would still hold two first-round selections and 11 overall. (They also hold the Rams’ first-round pick from the Garrett trade, and the Rams already have two losses.) GM Andrew Berry and his staff have been red-hot on draft weekend and would be set up to execute once again. The 2027 class is expected to be deep, from the quarterbacks on down.
As Monken has preached from Day 1, winning cures all. It’s all that matters, and the more wins this young Browns team can collect now, the more exciting the franchise’s future will be.
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