Last Sunday, former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin channeled former Steelers receiver JuJu Smith Schuster, during Tomlin’s first Sunday with NBC.
“The Browns is the Browns,” Tomlin said.
They heard it in Cleveland. And it apparently had an impact on the Browns for their Week 2 game at Tampa Bay.
“Browns are gonna Browns. Fuck that, OK?” coach Todd Monken said after the game. “The guys took that to heart.”
Monken’s quote was played during this Sunday’s Football Night in America. Tomlin laughed it off.
“I’m glad that I can still motivate although I’m not coaching anymore,” Tomlin said. “It’s good to be heard. . . . You’re welcome. You’re welcome.”
That’s the best thing about bulletin board material. It benefits the team on the wrong side of it.
As to “the Browns is the Browns,” it’s the second time that line has helped Cleveland. After Smith-Schuster first uttered it, the Browns thumped the Steelers in the playoffs — and Smith-Schuster acknowledged that it “probably” motivated the Browns, “a lot.”
Bucs Clips
When NBC analyst Mike Tomlin quoted JuJu Smith-Schuster and said, “Browns is the Browns” after the team’s embarrassing 34-10 loss to open the season, Cleveland head coach Todd Monken said he didn’t see it that way.
He was a little more emphatic after the club’s 23-19 victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday.
“Browns are gonna Browns — fuck that, OK?” Monken said. “The guys took that to heart.”
That was Monken’s walk-off message in his press conference and the end to an answer about how his team was able to stay warm and motivated during the long weather delay.
Monken also noted — before the expletive — that practice earlier in the week got chippy.
“We had a couple of scuffles Wednesday — which is good,” Monken said. “It’s awesome, because guys didn’t like it. They were a little pissed off, right? You ought to be a little pissed off. Played awful. It wasn’t the standard.”
The Browns played a lot better on Sunday.
We’ll see if Monken can talk that same talk after next week’s matchup against the Panthers.
Carson Wentz has the Vikings off to a 2-0 start, but it appears he will be back on the bench in Week 3.
Coach Kevin O’Connell said the Vikings expect Kyler Murray to clear concussion protocol “pretty early in the week” this week.
O’Connell did not name Murray as the starter when he returns, but that is the expectation.
Murray was limited in all three practices last week but ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Bears, a 9-3 Minnesota victory.
“He’s doing great,” O’Connell said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “He’s feeling well.”
On the 11th play of his debut with the Vikings, Murray was hit in the head by Packers safety Javon Bullard. Bullard was penalized but not fined for the hit.
Wentz is 23-of-39 for 276 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers this season.
The Vikings, though, signed Murray in the offseason to compete with J.J. McCarthy, not Wentz, for the starting job. McCarthy was relegated to third-string after Murray beat him out for the starting job.
It took over two hours to play the last two minutes of Sunday’s contest between the Browns and Buccaneers.
In the end, Todd Monken would probably say it was worth the wait.
Monken got his first victory as an NFL head coach with Cleveland’s 23-19 victory over Tampa Bay.
Down by four, the Bucs were on the move when the lightning delay hit at the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. After the more than two-hour delay, Tampa Bay was able to get down to Cleveland’s 13-yard line. But a holding penalty then derailed the possession, with quarterback Baker Mayfield missing an open Emeka Egbuka in the end zone on fourth-and-11 to effectively end the game.
Mayfield played another poor game after having three fumbles in the season opener, finishing 21-of-34 from 182 with a touchdown and an interception. He also had 29 rushing yards.
On the other side, after an ugly performance in last week’s season opener — and despite the team soft-launching his benching with some Sunday morning reports — quarterback Deshaun Watson played arguably his best game with the Browns. He finished 24-of-30 for 238 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing for 22 yards on seven carries.
Denzel Boston was arguably the best player on the field, catching five passes for 95 yards — including a 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Second-year tight end Harold Fannin also had 54 yards on five receptions.
With the win, the Browns are now 1-1 and the acrimonious situation between Watson and the team’s fans may have cooled off in time for next week’s home opener. Cleveland will host Carolina in Week 3.
The Buccaneers are now a disappointing 0-2, particularly after Mayfield’s contract extension. The club will try to get a win against the 2-0 Vikings at home next week.
The Browns and Bucs are about to resume their long-delayed game.
The two teams are set to resume play at about 6:10 p.m. ET, the Buccaneers announced.
Both teams took the field at about 6 p.m. to warm up.
Down 23-19 at the two-minute warning, the Buccaneers will have second-and-4 at Cleveland’s 28-yard line. The Bucs have three timeouts remaining.
While Baker Mayfield has not been sharp on Sunday, he has a chance to make it a memorable finish.
Todd Monken is two minutes away from his first win as an NFL head coach.
But he’ll have to wait to see if his team comes through.
The Browns and Buccaneers have hit a weather delay at the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter. There was lightning in the area, with the teams vacating the field at the late break.
Down 23-19, the Bucs will have second-and-4 from the Cleveland 28 when play resumes. The Buccaneers have all three timeouts.
Deshaun Watson has played arguably the best game he’s had in a Browns uniform, completing 24-of-30 passes for 238 yards with two touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 23 yards on six carries.
Watson hit rookie Denzel Boston with an intermediate pass that Boston took in for a 55-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Watson then connected with tight end Blake Whiteheart for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Browns a four-point advantage with 3:51 left in regulation.
UPDATE 5:08 p.m. ET: The game is still in a weather delay, with the Buccaneers announcing the next update will come at 5:30 p.m. ET.
UPDATE 5:40 P.M. ET: The game remains in a weather delay, with the next update from the stadium set to come at 6:15 p.m. ET.
Last week, Denzel Boston’s first touchdown catch came in garbage time with Cleveland down 34-3.
His second was as legit as they come.
Boston caught an intermediate pass over the middle, made three Buccaneers defenders miss, and darted to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown — tying the score at 16-16 late in the third quarter.
While the Browns’ offense has had trouble getting going throughout the day, the club picked up 13 yards to start its possession with a pass to Harold Fannin and then got a free first down with a 15-yard facemask penalty.
Boston made his impressive catch and run on the next play to tie the score.
Watson is now 15-of-18 for 167 yards with a touchdown. Boston leads with three catches for 78 yards with a TD.
The Buccaneers’ quarterback made some things shake and bake on the first drive of the second half, and now Tampa Bay has a 16-6 lead.
Baker Mayfield connected with a wide-open Emeka Egbuka for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Bucs a 10-point advantage.
Mayfield started the drive with a 24-yard pass to Chris Godwin, which was the longest pay of the day so far for Tampa Bay’s offense.
The quarterback then converted third-and-1 with a QB sneak to put the ball at Cleveland’s 15. And on third-and-9, he lowered his shoulder to power his way past the first-down marker to put Tampa Bay at the 5.
On the next play, Mayfield evaded the rush in the pocket to find Egbuka in the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.
Mayfield is now 13-of-19 for 80 yards with a touchdown and an interception so far on Sunday.
The Browns and the Buccaneers both look like teams with a lot of improvements to make if they’re going to be competitors this season.
But a poor coaching decision by Cleveland’s Todd Monken allowed Tampa Bay to take a 9-6 lead at halftime.
When the Browns faced fourth-and-1 from their own 34 with 2:50 left in the second quarter, the club’s defense had been playing well. The team had allowed just five first downs and picked off quarterback Baker Mayfield. But Monken still elected to go for it, calling a Quinshon Judkins run up the middle.
It was easily stuffed for a turnover on downs, giving Tampa Bay the ball deep in Cleveland territory.
But the underwhelming Buccaneers offense didn’t do much with the opportunity. While the team advanced down to the Cleveland 11, the unit stalled from there with a screen pass that went backward, followed by two Mayfield incompletions.
Chase McLaughlin hit his third field goal of the half to give the Buccaneers a three-point lead.
Mayfield is just 9-of-15 for 45 yards with an interception. Tampa Bay has just seven first downs, 126 yards, and is 3-of-8 on third down.
Cleveland has registered three sacks — one each from Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, and Mason Graham.
On the other side, Cleveland’s offense has done next to nothing. The team has just three first downs, 59 total yards, and is 0-of-6 on third down — and the Browns are somehow still in it. The club has also had several penalty issues, with six accepted for 50 yards.
Deshaun Watson, who may be making his final start in an orange helmet, is 7-of-9 for 55 yards. Judkins has 18 yards on nine carries, with the Tampa Bay defense clearly keying in on him. Harold Fannin has one 21-yard reception, which was Watson’s best throw of the day so far.
The Buccaneers will have a chance to get things going early in the third quarter, as they’ll receive the second-half kickoff.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow called it “ridiculous” to think he might miss Sunday’s game in Houston because of back tightness and he is active for the Week 2 matchup with the Texans.
Burrow’s health became a talking point this week when he was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he returned to full practice on Friday. The Bengals still listed him as questionable for the team’s first road game of the season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Burrow felt normal while going through Friday’s practice, but was very sore earlier in the week. The Texans pass rush could exacerbate that soreness if they’re able to get to Burrow early in Sunday’s game.
Bengals at Texans
Bengals: WR Ke’Shawn Williams, CB Josh Newton, OL Connor Lew, DL BJ Hill, DL Landon Robinson, QB Josh Johnson, OL Myles Hinton
Texans: TE Brevin Jordan, WR Nico Collins, LB Jake Hummel, CB Collin Wright, G Ed Ingram, OT Nate Thomas, DE Jadeveon Clowney
Panthers at Falcons
Panthers: LB Pat Jones, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, CB Chau Smith-Wade, LB Tyrel Dodson, OT Albert Reese, DT Bobby Brown
Falcons: QB Tua Tagovailoa, QB Michael Penix, DB Billy Bowman, DB Malcolm DeWalt, OL Ethan Onianwa
Saints at Ravens
Saints: RB Kendre Miler, QB Zach Wilson, DB Decamerion Richardson, LB Isaiah Stalbird, DL Christen Miller, OL Mason Murphy, DL John Ridgeway
Ravens: QB Joe Fagnano, WR Zay Flowers, G Andrew Vorhees, OT Gerad Lichtenhan, LB Teddye Buchanan, DL Nnamdi Madubuike
Vikings at Bears
Vikings: QB Kyler Murray, WR Jauan Jennings, DB Zemaiah Vaughn, DB Jakobe Thomas, OL Nick Samac, OL Caleb Tiernan, DL Elijah Williams
Bears: QB Case Keenum, DE Jamree Kromah, DT Jayden Loving, OT Ozzy Trapilo, OL Jordan McFadden
Steelers at Patriots
Steelers: CB Joey Porter Jr., WR Michael Pittman Jr., QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, G Gennings Dunker, DT Kevin Jobity, DT Gabriel Rubio
Patriots: CB Carlton Davis, OT Dametrious Crownover, OT Walter Rouse, TE Tanner Arkin, DL Leonard Taylor, QB Behren Morton
Packers at Jets
Packers: CB Benjamin St-Juste, OL John Williams, OL Travis Glover, DT Warren Brinson, DT Javon Hargrave
Jets: CB D’Angelo Ponds, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, K Blake Grupe, RB Kene Nwangwu, LB Joseph Ossai, LB Trevin Wallace
Browns at Buccaneers
Browns: QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, S Daniel Thomas, CB Toriano Pride, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins
Buccaneers: CB Ayden Garnes, CB Jacob Parrish, G Luke Haggard, G Billy Schrauth, DL DeMonte Capehart, DL Elijah Simmons
Eagles at Titans
Eagles: QB Tanner McKee, QB Cole Payton, WR Elijah Moore, LB Jonathan Greenard, G Micah Morris
Titans: CB Cor’Dale Flott, LB James Williams, OL Atonio Mafi, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DT Jackie Marshall
