Todd Monken
Credit: Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns secured their first win of the season on Sunday, taking down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road in a game that too far too long to finish.
With the Browns holding a four-point lead and the Buccaneers driving in Cleveland territory with two minutes to play, the game was forced to be suspended due to lightning. That delay would go on for more than two hours, but when the teams were finally able to retake the field, the Browns defense held and let Cleveland escape with their first win of the season and first win under new head coach Todd Monken.
The win was a big one for the Browns, as no one ever really expects them to win anything. They entered the game as 8.5-point underdogs, and with their win, likely spoiled a whole lot of survivor contest entries across the country. Speaking with the press after the win, Monken fired a shot at those that doubted Cleveland, alluding to comments from former AFC North coach Mike Tomlin.
“Browns are gonna Browns— F*ck that!” Monken said at the microphone. “The guys took that to heart.”
“Browns are gonna Browns… F*ck that!” – Browns head coach Todd Monken after beating the Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/CVav3A6Jks https://t.co/qMPcrZTeA4
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 20, 2026
The line was a reference to a comment Tomlin made in Week 1 while appearing in his new role as a member of NBC’s Football Night in America desk. Speaking over highlights — well, really lowlights —of the Browns’ Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tomlin quoted one of his former players on the woeful franchise.
“No, not off to a good start here,” Tomlin said of quarterback Deshaun Watson. “He throws an interception. In the words of my friend JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Browns is the Browns.”
Mike Tomlin: “In the words of my friend JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Browns is the Browns.” 🏈💀🎙️ pic.twitter.com/5jRJYeRgG1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 14, 2026
Those comments apparently got back to Monken, who clearly did not appreciate them.
By Sunday night, Monken’s postgame comments had gotten back to Tomlin, who laughed them off.
“Hey, I’m glad that I can still motivate, although I’m not coaching anymore,” Tomlin joked at the FNIA desk.
“Hey, I’m glad that I can still motivate, although I’m not coaching anymore.”
Mike Tomlin responds to Todd Monken’s comments. 🏈🎙️ #NFL pic.twitter.com/T7AIxwEc5G https://t.co/IsufsXqaTi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 21, 2026
While there’s no denying the mark in the win column the Browns added this week, it’s going to take more than a single day’s performance to prove that the Browns are no longer gonna Browns.
That said, the win should at least help a bit with the team’s home opener next week against the Carolina Panthers. The last time Watson played a home game, he was booed off the field and criticized the home fans when asked about the boos by reporters after the game. Will the boos still come down on Sunday now that Cleveland is 1–1 on the year? Time will tell.