The Browns are 2-1, they’ve got a prime-time home date on Thursday night, and they can put a bitter division rival in their rearview while sitting on top of the AFC North to open Week 4. On paper, that’s a strong start. In practice, Cleveland is leaning hard on thin margins.
The biggest problem is one the Browns were supposed to clean up under Todd Monken. Instead, it’s getting louder by the week.
Cleveland has been penalized 34 times in three games, the second-highest total in the NFL. ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reported that the Browns were flagged 14 times in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers, their highest single-game total since Week 6 of the 2023 season. Twelve of those penalties were accepted, and the number underlines how little progress has been made on a problem that was supposed to be a training camp focus.
That lack of discipline has been baked into both wins, too. The Browns trailed in the fourth quarter against Tampa Bay, 16-13, and again against Carolina, 18-13. In both games, Deshaun Watson delivered the go-ahead scoring drive, and the defense finished the job late.
That’s why the record looks better than the process. Cleveland is even sitting as a top-15 team in second-half scoring, which is not exactly the kind of company anyone expected them to keep entering the season.
Monken has already put the message plainly: “We’re going to be a damn good football team once Browns stop hurting Browns, and we’re going to fight like hell to fix it.”
It’s a strong line, and it played well after a wild home opener with Monken in a backwards hat soaking in the moment. But the results haven’t caught up to the rhetoric.
The issues are showing up all over the place, starting with the offense. Tytus Howard, Cleveland’s $45 million right tackle, was flagged three times on one drive and finished with three false starts against Carolina. The Browns also drew three penalties for illegal formation or motion.
There were other costly mistakes, too. Denzel Boston broke off an explosive catch-and-run to the Panthers 11 in the second quarter, but a holding call on rookie Spencer Fano pushed the Browns backward and eventually led to a punt.
For a first-time head coach, the mix of penalties, shaky clock management, and questionable game handling has been rough through September. Monken says he’ll fight like hell to clean it up. Until that happens, Cleveland’s hot start looks a lot more fragile than the record suggests.
In Other News...
Pat Freiermuth Just Reopened An Ugly Browns Fan Reputation
Pat Freiermuth brought an old scar back into view this week when he revisited a rookie-season memory that stuck with him far beyond the final whistle. Ahead of the Steelers upcoming game against the Browns, the tight end described the scene around his game-winning touchdown in Cleveland, a moment that should have been about the play itself but instead turned into something far uglier in the stands.
Freiermuth said his mother was the one caught in the middle of it, and the memory has been enough to change her routine when the Steelers head to Cleveland. Even so, he made clear there are no lingering hard feelings, just a reminder of how quickly a night in the AFC North can turn personal and why certain road games still carry an edge no scoreboard can erase. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Rookie Is Pushing Veterans In A Troubling Position Battle
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren arrived in Cleveland as a second-round pick with the usual rookie expectations, but his first three weeks have started to look more like a challenge to the veterans in front of him than a slow apprenticeship. His defensive snaps have been limited so far, yet when he has been on the field, he has made the most of it and drawn strong grades from PFF relative to other Browns defenders.
That kind of early efficiency can change a depth chart quickly, especially for a team trying to sort out its safety mix and steady itself against the run. Cleveland has reason to consider expanding McNeil-Warrens role if the current personnel at the position keeps leaving openings, and the next stretch could show whether the rookie is merely earning more trust or forcing a tougher conversation about who should be playing more. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Gave Steelers One More Reason To Show Up Thursday
The Browns are coming off a 2-1 start and showing real signs of improvement after an opening loss, but a stray comment from Todd Monken gave their next opponent a little extra material to work with. During a media session, Clevelands head coach joked about the possibility of Steelers stars T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward eventually retiring, the kind of aside that can linger longer than intended when a rivalry game is already close at hand.
Pittsburgh hardly needed much encouragement to be locked in for Thursday, but comments like that tend to travel fast in that building. Even if Monken meant it lightly, the timing leaves Cleveland in a familiar spot: playing a strong early-season stretch while trying not to hand the Steelers an emotional edge before the teams meet again. [Read more 🡒]