Todd Monken first shrugged off Mike Tomlin’s “Browns is the Browns” jab, but his tone changed after Cleveland’s Week 2 victory over the Buccaneers — Monken’s first NFL head-coaching win. He said the team took that criticism personally and used it as fuel rather than letting the label define them.
Cleveland played with purpose on Sunday. The Browns’ defense disrupted former Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield, sacking him three times and limiting him to 182 yards and an interception. Offensively, Deshaun Watson delivered his best performance since arriving in Cleveland: he completed 24 of 30 passes for 238 yards, threw two touchdowns with no interceptions, and even finished as the team’s top rusher.
Monken’s opening weeks in Cleveland have been rocky. He watched GM Andrew Berry move on from Myles Garrett, faced questions for starting Watson over Shedeur Sanders, and endured a lopsided loss in his debut against Jacksonville. Still, Sunday gave Monken and the franchise something to celebrate — and prompted a forceful rebuttal to Tomlin’s earlier remark. Tomlin, for his part, laughed it off and joked that he’s glad he can still motivate people even though he’s not the one coaching.
Tomlin’s original comment traces back to January 2021, when then-Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said “The Browns is the Browns” before a wild-card game — a matchup Cleveland won 48-37 in Pittsburgh. Ironically, on Sunday the Steelers looked much more like the old Browns when New England held them to just three points in a 20-3 loss, leaving Pittsburgh 1-1.
Monken also has plenty of recent history with Tomlin’s Steelers. As the Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2023–25 he faced Pittsburgh seven times, was swept in 2023, then helped Baltimore beat the Steelers twice late in the 2024 season — including a convincing AFC wild-card win. His Ravens stint ultimately ended the following year in Pittsburgh after a missed field goal decided the regular season finale.
Monken will meet Tomlin and the Steelers for the first time as Cleveland’s head coach in Week 4, when Pittsburgh visits on Thursday night. The Browns enter that game having won four straight home meetings with the Steelers, including two primetime victories.
Fan Take: This matters because momentum and pride can reshape a team’s identity quickly — Monken’s strong response and Watson’s bounce-back performance could signal the Browns are more resilient than critics expect. If Cleveland keeps winning and using outside slight as motivation, it could intensify rivalries and raise the stakes for primetime matchups across the AFC.
Source: www.cbssports.com
