These Browns aren't those Browns.
Todd Monken's football team played with ferocity and physicality Thursday night, beating up the Pittsburgh Steelers and building a 14-point first-half lead. After the Steelers mounted a comeback, Deshaun Watson and the offense showed moxie marching for the game-winning field goal in the 27-24 victory.
The 3-1 Browns have taken over first place in the AFC North and feel decidedly different than past years.
"This ain't the old Browns," defensive end Jared Verse said after the win. "We've got new swag. We're a lot more aggressive, a lot more, you know, getting after it. This is something different here. We're going to make this whole city rock."
Cleveland rocked Thursday night, especially in the first half, when Watson finally looked like the quarterback the Browns traded for in 2022. The QB, who was suspended 11 games in his first season in Cleveland following allegations of sexual misconduct and dealt with a string of injuries, including missing all of 2025 due to an Achilles tear, made plays with his arm and his legs.
Watson went 14-of-17 for 181 yards and a touchdown as the Browns built a 21-10 first-half lead.
"It was electric. It was amazing," Watson said. "From the time we came out pregame, it was super dope to be called out, hear the crowd and feel the energy. From start to finish, the crowd was in it, the energy of the stadium, we fed off them. To get a big victory against a divisional rival on prime time, this [is] what you dream about. This is what you work for. These are the things that you put that grind in during the summertime and training camp for nights like this. It was amazing."
The second half got choppier for Watson and the offense. The QB went 10-of-16 for 87 yards with an interception and a fumble in the second half. However, in the crucible of big moments, Watson escaped the pocket to pick up a big first down and made key throws to put the Browns in position to kick the game-winner.
More than a month after being booed by home fans in a preseason game and lashing out at them afterward, Watson delivered a game that finally earned cheers from the hometown crowd. After things looked dead in the water following Week 1's blowout loss, the Browns are on a three-game winning streak.
"That was a complete, maybe disaster is a little bit strong, but that's a tough opening game in every phase, other than maybe kickoff return, maybe other than that. But the guys trusted the process," Monken said. "We got stung a little bit, and our guys responded to that. And, man, that locker room is fun, right there celebrating those guys. Big, big, big divisional win."
Watson has led a game-winning drive in each of the last three games, the longest such streak of his career. The only other Browns quarterback to lead a game-winning drive in three consecutive games was Brian Sipe in Weeks 1-3, 1979 en route to a third-place finish in MVP voting.
The Cleveland football team has had few peaks in the past two-plus decades. Since the Browns' return in 1999, they've made just three playoff appearances. There have been memorable campaigns, with Baker Mayfield helping break the postseason drought in 2020 and Joe Flacco helping run the Browns to a playoff bid in 2023. However, with the young playmakers, highlighted by Verse and a stingy defense, along with receivers Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion and a rejuvenated running back Quinshon Judkins, this time feels more sustainable than those flashes in the pan.
Monken cautioned after the win that it's only three victories, and the season is long. However, with a relatively cushy schedule, if Watson keeps playing well, the Browns will be in the thick of things in the AFC.
"It's still only three [wins]," the coach said. "And there's a lot of things we can continue to get better at, and we will, because our guys are humble and they're still hungry. And it's really cool, because it means the next one continues to matter. That's all you want to be. You just want to be in a position where the games matter, right? That's what we want to be in, that's what our fans want to be in, and that's what we're going to fight for every day."
