Todd Monken’s first game calling the shots for the Browns turned into a long, ugly afternoon, and the 34-10 loss to the Jaguars left plenty for Cleveland fans to pick apart.
The scoreboard told one story. The Browns’ approach told another. Jacksonville controlled the game, but Cleveland made things easier than they needed to be, and Monken’s debut was loaded with choices that looked worse with every passing series.
The biggest issue came on early downs. Monken is supposed to bring creativity and mismatches to the table, but after the opening drive, none of that really showed up.
Once the Browns got into third down, the offense kept running into a wall. Cleveland finished 1-for-8 on third down, and that one conversion came on a Deshaun Watson scramble on third-and-7.
They didn’t even manage a third-and-short until the second half. Instead, they were stuck in third-and-10 twice and even dug into a third-and-25 after penalties.
For a coach who says he trusts Watson, the game plan didn’t exactly reflect that confidence. The Browns played it straight for most of the afternoon, and it showed.
The caution didn’t stop there. Monken also passed on two chances to be more aggressive in situations where the game was already slipping away.
In the third quarter, with Cleveland down 31-0, he settled for a field goal on fourth-and-7 from the Jacksonville 8. Sure, it avoided a shutout.
But down five scores on the road, safe didn’t offer much value.
He took a similarly conservative route late in the second quarter, punting on fourth-and-6 from midfield while the Jaguars were ahead 24-0. For a first outing in charge, it was a strikingly cautious call sheet.
And looming over all of it was the simplest decision of the day: starting Deshaun Watson.
That choice, in the eyes of the source material, explains a lot of what followed. Watson’s performance went about as badly as expected, and the argument here is blunt - he can no longer play at a high level.
The fans know it, opposing fans know it, everybody on the field and in the stadium knows it, and even the Browns have to know it. There's just no way they legitimately feel otherwise.
That reality leaves Cleveland in a familiar spot. As long as Watson is under center, every game is going to invite the same debate, because even when he isn’t responsible for everything that goes wrong, he still drags the offense down with him.
In Other News...
Todd Monkens Week 1 Response Hit Browns Fans The Wrong Way
Todd Monkens postgame remarks after the Browns season-opening loss to the Jaguars did little to calm a frustrated fan base. Cleveland was beaten 34-10 as Jacksonville took control early and even had the luxury of pulling its starting quarterback in the fourth quarter, while Monken tried to strike a tone of disappointment mixed with confidence in his roster and coaching staff.
Monken also made clear he was not interested in the outside noise, saying he would not fire himself or his staff and that external opinions do not shape his decisions. For a team already facing scrutiny after a rough opener, those comments landed awkwardly, leaving Browns fans wondering whether the response matched the urgency of the performance. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Already Facing Tanking Talk Over One Week 1 Decision
Week 1 has a way of turning every roster choice into an instant referendum, and the Browns found themselves right in the middle of that conversation after their decision to start Deshaun Watson drew public criticism. The reaction was less about one September game than the bigger picture, with some viewers already wondering whether the move pointed toward a long, ugly season and a record that could quickly slip out of reach.
The Browns were not alone in that spotlight, either, as the Dolphins also came under scrutiny in the same stretch of commentary because of familiar tanking chatter tied to their current roster situation. When two teams are being discussed in that kind of language this early, it says plenty about how much doubt still hangs over their Week 1 performances and the choices each front office is trying to defend. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Opener Exposed Familiar Problems Fans Were Hoping Were Gone
The Browns opened the 2026 season with a 34-10 loss to the Jaguars, and the result looked frustratingly familiar in the ways fans were hoping to avoid. There were a few bright spots to take from the day, including strong kickoff returns from Raheim Sanders and a touchdown catch from rookie wideout Denzel Boston, but Cleveland never found enough rhythm to make those moments matter.
Deshaun Watsons struggles stood out in a game where the Jaguars defense controlled too many of the important snaps, while Myles Harden also had a rough afternoon. Add in the penalties and the lack of success on third down, and the opener became less about one bad game than a reminder of the issues the Browns need to clean up fast if they want this season to look different from the last one. [Read more 🡒]