The Browns are walking into Week 8 with something they haven’t had in a while: real momentum, a 5-2 record, and a national voice saying out loud what Cleveland fans have been seeing all season.
Jason La Canfora of FanSided put the Browns at No. 10 in his Week 8 NFL Power Rankings, and his praise was pointed at Todd Monken. He didn’t just credit the Browns for surviving a tough stretch. He went all the way in on the coach.
"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."
That kind of recognition fits the way Cleveland has been winning. The Browns have had their share of messy moments, but they keep finding a way to finish. That was true again after last week’s disappointing start at the Tennessee Titans, and it’s been a theme through several gutty wins already this season.
There’s still plenty for Cleveland to clean up if it wants to be more than just a feel-good story. The Browns have the second-most accepted penalties in the league, trailing only the Green Bay Packers, who have already played one more game. On top of that, Cleveland ranks 23rd in yards per play and 27th in offensive EPA per play, according to SumerSports.
Even with those issues, the Browns are still stacking wins, and Monken’s message is clearly getting through. He’s holding himself and everyone else accountable, and that seems to be resonating inside the building. At this point, the Coach of the Year case is hard to ignore.
Cleveland has also leaned on timely plays from its defense. Deshaun Watson has shown poise late in games, while Carson Schwesinger, Denzel Ward and others have helped turn recent stretches with key takeaways. The pass rush has usually been part of the formula in Browns victories, even if that didn’t show up as clearly last week.
What makes the start even more notable is the age of this roster. The Browns are one of the youngest teams in the league, and expectations coming into the season were modest. Instead, Cleveland has already matched its win total from 2025 just seven weeks into 2026.
Now comes a different kind of test. The Browns head to Pittsburgh on Sunday for a matchup of 5-2 teams, and that trip carries extra weight because Cleveland is still looking for its first road win in Pittsburgh since the 2003 regular season.
The AFC North isn’t easing up either. The Cincinnati Bengals are No. 9 in La Canfora’s rankings, the Ravens are sitting fourth in the division but above .500, and Lamar Jackson is about to return.
So yes, there are reasons to keep the brakes on a little. Cleveland still has to prove it can be a consistent four-quarter team, and the division is going to stay competitive.
But for now, the Browns have earned something more than caution. They’ve earned the label La Canfora gave them.
Plucky.
And in Cleveland, that’s turning into a pretty good place to start.
In Other News...
Browns Got Exposed In Pittsburgh Where It Hurts Most
The Browns walked into Pittsburgh needing a cleaner, sturdier performance and instead got pushed around in the one place they most wanted to hold up. The Steelers grabbed the early lead and never gave it back, while Clevelands offense spent much of the afternoon fighting uphill, unable to get its ground game moving and unable to keep Deshaun Watson upright.
Even with the loss, there were a couple of individual bright spots for Cleveland, including Harold Fannin Jr. turning in a career-best day as a receiver. But the bigger picture was hard to miss: Pittsburgh controlled the line of scrimmage, Jaylen Warren ripped off 143 rushing yards, and the Browns were left with the kind of physical imbalance that tends to linger long after one divisional game ends. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Get Their Biggest Test Yet In Pittsburgh After Hot Start
The Browns fast start has changed the tone around the franchise in a hurry. After an offseason that looked like it might lean toward a rebuild, Cleveland instead chose a more competitive path, and the early results have backed up that decision. At 5-2 and 2-0 in the AFC North, the Browns have given their fan base something it did not necessarily expect this soon, while also putting a spotlight on the organizations willingness to be accountable for the direction it chose.
Now comes the kind of game that can tell you a lot about whether this start is sustainable. A trip to Pittsburgh has a way of sorting out the real contenders from the teams merely riding momentum, and it arrives with Cleveland still sorting through changes on offense and the effects of several roster moves. The Steelers will offer the Browns their toughest divisional test yet, and the answer could say plenty about how far this group has actually come. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Keep Falling Into The Same Trap In AFC North Losses
The Browns latest AFC North loss followed a familiar script, with a sluggish offensive start and self-inflicted mistakes helping put them in a hole against Pittsburgh. Cleveland fell 27-6 in Week 8, and even though Deshaun Watson finished with 27 completions for 324 yards, the early turnovers and a string of penalties made it tough for the offense to ever find a rhythm.
Penalties have become a recurring problem in these division games, and this one was no exception, with taunting calls among the flags that helped stall drives and swing momentum. Cleveland now has to reset quickly for its next game against the New Orleans Saints, but the bigger issue is harder to ignore: until the Browns clean up the mistakes that keep showing up in AFC North play, the results are likely to keep looking the same. [Read more 🡒]