Todd Monken wants Cleveland to know these aren’t the same old Browns. Aaron Glenn has his work cut out to convince New York these aren’t the same old Jets.
Two of the NFL’s traditional doormats are on contrasting trajectories entering their Week 5 meeting Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
When the Browns were trampled 34-10 by the Jacksonville Jaguars in their season opener, ex-Steelers coach-turned-NBC analyst Mike Tomlin had a soundbite that went viral: “The Browns is the Browns.”
That apparently got under Monken’s skin. Once he got his first win as a head coach the following week, he shot back, “Browns are gonna Browns. F– that. The guys took that to heart.”
And the Browns (3-1) haven’t lost since, despite trailing or being tied in the fourth quarter in each of their three victories. They’ve produced a late, go-ahead touchdown or field goal each time, most recently Andre Szmyt’s 56-yard kick with 10 seconds left to notch a 27-24 win over Tomlin’s old friends in Pittsburgh.
Monken was asked Wednesday about the team’s fortitude under pressure.
“Up until this point,” Monken said, “I think our guys have just done exactly what they’ve done since I’ve gotten here, and that’s just practice and work and believe. Stay connected. Some of our non-negotiables, I think, helps you through that.
“We’ll just continue to push the envelope. They should have confidence in themselves as individual players.”
Deshaun Watson went 24-for-33 passing for 268 yards, one touchdown and one interception on Oct. 1 in the Browns’ highest-scoring performance so far.
“It’s the connection, the chemistry, the belief. The will, the hope, the grit,” Watson said. “Everything that we put in this offseason.”
The Jets (1-3) have seen their season unfold like a mirror image of Cleveland’s. A Week 1 win over Tennessee inspired confidence, but each of their three losses since have come in worse fashion.
In their 23-12 road loss last Sunday to Chicago, the Jets’ defense allowed more Bears first downs (34) than their offense ran plays (32). That came not against star quarterback Caleb Williams, who is injured, but against Tyson Bagent.
Geno Smith, whose second stint as New York’s starting quarterback also got off to a promising start, had his mildest showing of the season: 8 for 15, 119 yards, one touchdown.
Glenn, four games into his second year as head coach, said Monday that “there are some positives that came out of this, and sometimes everybody just focuses on the negative part of it” — cold comfort for the fan base of the team with the longest active playoff drought in the four major U.S. sports leagues.
“Our deal is we’re going to make sure we try to continue to improve on that and, hopefully, from the outside our fans will see that,” Glenn said. “And again, we’ll just look at the next week and we’re just trying to go 1-0 each week and that’s the thing that we’re focused on and that’s the only thing I want our fans to focus on.”
Two traits the Jets and Browns do have in common this season are weak offensive lines and threatening pass rushes. Both Smith and Watson have taken double-digit sacks. No. 2 overall pick David Bailey has two of the Jets defense’s nine sacks, while the Browns have totaled 12 even after trading first-team All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett in the offseason.
The Cleveland pass defense, featuring Denzel Ward and company, ranks seventh in completion percentage allowed (60%) and has created some coverage sacks.
“Their defense is playing fast and physical, and they’re making plays,” Glenn said of the Browns. “The one thing you clearly see is man-to-man coverage with those guys in the back end who play a good amount of Cover 1.”
The Jets were without four offensive starters against the Bears: running back Breece Hall (quad), wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (finger), tight end Mason Taylor (thumb) and left guard Dylan Parham (knee). Hall, Mitchell and Parham remain week to week. Taylor was a full participant in Wednesday’s walkthrough.
Wide receiver Tim Patrick (groin) is designated to return from IR and also participated fully Wednesday. Edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare (knee) was limited and linebacker Kiko Mauigoa (quad) and cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (concussion) missed practice.
For the Browns, guard Teven Jenkins (back), receiver Tylan Wallace (knee) and defensive linemen Derek Barnett (ankle), Mason Graham (knee, ankle) and Mike Hall Jr. (ankle) sat out practice. Defensive tackle Kalia Davis (quad) and safety Grant Delpit (shoulder) were limited.
