Brendan Gulick and Anthony Moeglin give you their postgame thoughts and reactions to the Browns' thrilling win at home over the rival Steelers.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Wow, what a day for the Cleveland Browns.
00:10 It was a good start, a terrible middle
00:14 and an unbelievable ending
00:16 that ultimately ended with a Browns victory.
00:19 13 to 10, the final score
00:21 as Cleveland knocks off the Pittsburgh Steelers.
00:23 Cleveland is three and two in the division.
00:25 They have beaten every team in the division
00:28 with still one game left against the Bengals
00:30 at the end of the regular season.
00:33 And this critical two game stretch, Anthony,
00:36 that we talked about,
00:37 that the Browns needed to find a way
00:39 to at least go one and one against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
00:42 They walk away two and O in two games
00:44 that they looked at times
00:46 like they were gonna run away with.
00:47 And then at times, like there was no chance
00:48 they were gonna win
00:49 and ultimately figured out a way to get it done.
00:51 - It's the Cleveland Browns fan experience, right?
00:54 Like we have had two back-to-back weeks
00:56 of just like roller coasters, man.
00:59 And today was no different,
01:00 but the best part is, right?
01:03 All we wanted from this two game stretch was a split.
01:06 If you were to split them,
01:07 you knew that your playoff hopes would be alive.
01:10 However, this team, because of their heart,
01:12 because of their will, because of how much they care,
01:15 they now have a very legit chance
01:17 to attack the AFC North Crown.
01:20 And I'll tell you what, Brendan,
01:21 after today and as we get into late November
01:24 and into December,
01:25 teams are not gonna wanna come to Cleveland.
01:27 And if the Browns can find a way
01:30 to have a home playoff game, they'll be in good shape.
01:33 - Cleveland Browns are seven and three,
01:36 which they also did, by the way, back in 2020.
01:39 Prior to that, it was 1994.
01:41 So it's been a little while
01:42 since Cleveland has had this kind of rhythm and success,
01:45 obviously, with 2020 still on our minds.
01:48 It was far from perfect today,
01:51 but I think our post-game report needs to start
01:53 where it has frequently started
01:55 in the last several weeks, frankly, with the defense,
01:58 because the Browns gave up 10 points
02:01 and the only touchdown they allowed
02:02 came on a 74-yard touchdown run.
02:05 I wouldn't call it a broken play.
02:06 It was a good offensive play.
02:10 It was a sweep to the right-hand side
02:13 and Warren slipped one tackle
02:16 and outran everybody else and was gone, right?
02:19 More yards on that touchdown run
02:22 on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter
02:25 than Pittsburgh had the entire first half combined.
02:28 And when you combine that with a stagnant offense,
02:31 it put an awful lot of pressure on the Browns' defense
02:34 to keep performing well, but ultimately they got it done.
02:36 - It was such an interesting game.
02:39 Just watching it, I don't envy Steeler fans
02:43 because that offense is, I don't know what their goal is.
02:47 They don't do anything and they had that big play
02:50 and it was literally, you'll watch the tape
02:52 and Spencer and I will break it down tomorrow,
02:54 but it was a Greg Newsome mistackle in the hole
02:56 that with the Cleveland Browns,
02:59 the way they play defense so aggressively,
03:01 one mistackle and he was gone.
03:03 He's off to the races, but the Browns' defense,
03:05 there's just not enough superlatives
03:07 to really talk about them.
03:09 Myles Garrett gets after the quarterback.
03:10 This defensive line, although they started,
03:12 they did start getting kind of pushed and leaned on
03:15 there at the end of the third quarter
03:16 and into the fourth, they responded.
03:18 And they're just so talented.
03:19 That secondary is incredible.
03:20 The defensive line is amazing.
03:22 And we lose Anthony Walker today
03:25 from the linebacker position,
03:27 but the linebackers are incredible too.
03:29 And there's a reason why this is the best defense
03:31 in the NFL because they're fast, they're physical,
03:34 and they're just super well coached.
03:35 It's really, really fun to watch.
03:38 - Kevin Stefanski said post-game that he does not know
03:41 how long Walker will be out.
03:42 It was a hamstring injury that he suffered,
03:44 I believe on punt coverage.
03:47 Certainly disappointing, but again, I thought Taki Taki
03:50 and Owusu Koromoa did a pretty good job
03:52 playing in his absence.
03:54 You know, the other big thing that everybody's going to talk
03:57 about coming out of this game is whether or not
03:59 they think the Browns can continue to win games
04:02 with rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson
04:05 leading the way.
04:06 The conversation this week up to Wednesday
04:10 was Super Bowl, Super Browns, right?
04:13 That's all you heard all the time.
04:14 And then Wednesday got here and Deshaun Watson's done
04:18 for the year and it felt like the sky was falling.
04:20 And inside the facility, much calmer demeanor.
04:24 Everybody was feeling like, hey, you know what?
04:26 Dorian's look pretty good.
04:28 No reason to think that he's going to go out and play
04:29 the way he did against Baltimore the first time around.
04:32 It's his time to have a shot and go do this.
04:35 And so, you know, he steps right back into the fire
04:37 against a team that's not very good in Pittsburgh,
04:42 but a rivalry and a stage that you better bring it
04:46 because for whatever reason, in plenty of other instances
04:50 over the years where the Browns looked like
04:52 they could beat Pittsburgh, they haven't gotten it done.
04:54 And to Dorian's credit, after 28 minutes of horrendous
04:58 offense in the third and most of the fourth quarter,
05:01 DTR completed four or four passes.
05:03 If you take the spiked football out on that last drive
05:06 and he guided the team down the field deep enough
05:08 to go win the game with a field goal.
05:10 You know, it's incredible, you know,
05:12 just watching the way that they were able to kind of
05:15 manufacture this offense today.
05:17 Like if this is the floor, like I think that the,
05:20 the Ravens game from weeks ago was, you throw that out.
05:24 That's an outlier.
05:25 That was a crazy situation.
05:26 It's like, they weren't prepared for that, obviously.
05:28 What you saw today is something that I believe
05:31 is sustainable.
05:32 Like the Browns can lean on the run game.
05:34 They used Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt, both had 12 carries,
05:37 both had 34 and 31 yards respectively.
05:40 So it's not great in the run game, but like you said,
05:43 you know, in a game like this, yes,
05:45 Pittsburgh's defense statistically isn't great.
05:47 They give up a ton of yards.
05:48 They don't give up very many points.
05:50 And guess what?
05:51 Their two bookends in TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith
05:53 are game changers.
05:54 It doesn't matter what's behind them.
05:55 Those two can wreck games and you have to account for them
05:58 in call plays based off of those two guys
06:01 and not allow them to wreck the game.
06:02 So I thought Kevin was fantastic today.
06:05 I thought the first half was as close to perfect
06:09 as you could be with a backup quarterback
06:11 or who is a rookie and trying to protect him.
06:13 The second half, I thought that the Browns kind of got away
06:17 a little bit from what they did,
06:18 but also Kevin stayed with it.
06:20 You know, there was times where he tried to kind of get away
06:23 from it, but he came back to the run, came back to easy passes
06:25 and use the special teams to win them the football game.
06:28 And guess what Browns fans?
06:29 The fun, exciting wins that we've had
06:33 the first couple of months, those are gone.
06:34 You know, it's going to be wins like this today
06:37 where you grind it out, you use special teams,
06:39 you use punt, you use your great defense to win football games
06:42 and you're going to do a lot of it
06:44 here in the home stretch of this season.
06:46 I know nobody likes talking about punting and kicking,
06:49 despite the fact that Dustin Hopkins has
06:51 been a godsend for this team.
06:54 I have no idea how he was available,
06:56 but super thankful that he was.
06:59 It is such an important part of the game,
07:01 and I think maybe Browns fans right now
07:03 are getting an ability to appreciate that more than ever
07:06 because when your offense can't get it going,
07:09 Corey Bohorquez is a full blown dynamite weapon as a punter.
07:15 And Dustin Hopkins, I mean, how many 50 plus yard field goals
07:18 does a guy have to make during the course of the season
07:20 to convince you that he's got incredible range?
07:23 Obviously, today wasn't needed from quite that deep,
07:25 but still, he's been so reliable.
07:27 And I think Kevin Stefanski can coach
07:31 with a slightly more relaxed mindset knowing that, hey,
07:37 you know what, if this doesn't work offensively,
07:39 I've got guys I can lean on on special teams,
07:41 and the defense is going to go play the way they play.
07:44 I don't know that this is a Super Bowl
07:48 team without Deshaun Watson, a quarterback,
07:50 and without healthy tackles and without Nick Chubb.
07:54 But I don't know that they're not
07:55 because I don't know that a team has ever played defense
07:58 the way the Browns have played defense
08:00 and carried somebody the way, at least not in Cleveland
08:03 in a while.
08:05 We were kind of joking with each other, some of the media
08:07 members and I, as we were leaving the press
08:09 conference of, has a rookie quarterback ever
08:12 won the Super Bowl?
08:13 And obviously, the answer is no.
08:14 But I said, well, has a rookie quarterback ever
08:16 had a defense like this?
08:17 And I realized the Browns are finding ways
08:21 to win games ugly sometimes.
08:23 And the idea of a Super Bowl still
08:25 feels like a little bit of a foreign concept.
08:28 But this team is showing they are good enough
08:31 to make a serious run.
08:33 And I hope Dorian Thompson Robinson continues to learn
08:37 and continues to get better because his final stat line
08:40 today, in my opinion, doesn't really tell the full story.
08:43 He was 24-43.
08:46 There's no official stat for drop passes in the NFL.
08:49 It might have been a million today.
08:52 It certainly was at least six.
08:54 He threw one interception on a ball that bounced off a guy.
08:57 And he said postgame, he was beating himself up over that.
09:00 Deshaun Watson got in his ear and said,
09:02 hey, man, put a smile on your face
09:03 and just go make another play.
09:06 I mean, look, he's got room to grow for sure.
09:10 But I like enough of what I saw today
09:12 that I think the Browns are going to be OK,
09:14 even if they sign a veteran quarterback like Joe Flacco.
09:18 And I'll tell you what, Brennan, if this is his floor,
09:21 he's going to get better.
09:22 So what we've watched today--
09:25 and there was great-- there was some really great.
09:27 There was also some really not so great.
09:29 But there was also a handful of drops and accurate passes.
09:32 And he was making plays and doing what he needed to do.
09:35 He's only going to get better from here.
09:37 And to your point, has there ever
09:39 been a rookie that has had this defense?
09:41 I don't know.
09:41 But the closest one is Brock Purdy.
09:43 And guess what?
09:44 He was in the NFC Championship last year.
09:45 There's no reason why this team can't be the same thing.
09:50 You love what you saw from Elijah Moore today.
09:51 Led the team six catches for 60 today.
09:55 Was awesome.
09:56 My favorite part of the day was he has that drop.
09:58 It's in the second quarter.
09:59 They're coming to the dog pound.
10:01 Has a drop, and Dorian goes right back to him.
10:03 Boom, puts one right on his face.
10:05 Max, he catches it.
10:06 12-yard game.
10:06 I thought he was great today.
10:08 I thought Njoku, although he did catch--
10:10 or he did drop a touchdown, there
10:13 was a little contact there.
10:14 But seven catches for 56.
10:15 Thought he was great.
10:16 It's going to be really hard to get the ball to Omari Cooper.
10:18 Teams are going to take him away.
10:20 So it's really good that Dorian was able to find other guys.
10:24 And I'll tell you what.
10:25 If this is his floor today, he's only
10:27 going to get better from here.
10:28 And what you saw is something you
10:30 can be very encouraged with, because you
10:32 can win football games with a guy who gets better
10:35 from this performance today.
10:37 I saw a stat earlier this afternoon
10:39 that was pretty eye-popping.
10:42 For the first time since 1969, the Cleveland Browns
10:46 and the Detroit Lions are both at least 7-3.
10:49 Detroit's 8-2.
10:50 I don't know if we're bound for a Browns-Lions Super Bowl.
10:54 It's just kind of funny.
10:55 But I mean, look, there are good vibes here,
10:58 and for good reason, because the team is fun to watch.
11:02 They're likable.
11:04 And they've got a killer instinct about them
11:06 when they need it that this city can really identify with
11:11 and rally behind.
11:12 It's a lot of fun.
11:13 If we were to be so lucky to get a Browns-Lions Super Bowl,
11:16 they should play it at the Glass Bowl in Toledo,
11:18 outside in February in the snow, and let everyone just
11:22 go and watch it there.
11:24 That would be awesome.
11:26 But it means 7-3.
11:28 This is this team, and we'll talk about it coming up
11:31 this week.
11:31 But you got Denver, and you got Los Angeles next up
11:35 on the docket.
11:36 Those are two games where you can go--
11:38 You will go.
11:38 --off the road.
11:39 There's no reason why you can't win them.
11:40 If you're at 9-3, I'm telling you, man,
11:42 nobody is going to want to come to Cleveland in December
11:45 and January to play a football game.
11:48 And if you can get a home field advantage,
11:50 this defense and this team, this run game
11:52 are going to be a tall task for any opposing team
11:56 to come and stop.
11:57 I asked Miles Garrett-- we'll wrap with this here.
11:59 I asked Miles in his post-game press conference.
12:02 I said, you've got a unique perspective
12:04 because you've been on Browns teams that haven't been good,
12:08 and you're playing on a team right now as a focal point
12:11 of a team that is achieving at a really high level.
12:14 What is the difference that this team has
12:17 been able to get over the hump in some
12:19 of those really close, nail-biting moments
12:23 late in games?
12:24 And he said that it's pretty simple.
12:28 Nobody's taking the easy way out.
12:30 He said it doesn't matter if it's in practice or in games.
12:33 There is leadership from everyone, everywhere,
12:36 whether you are a starter or you're
12:38 a guy that plays six, seven, eight, plays a game,
12:40 or maybe gets in on special teams.
12:42 There's a leadership and an ownership
12:45 from the way these guys are attacking their business.
12:48 He said it hasn't always been like that here.
12:50 And to all of the fans that have been overly critical
12:56 or have been trained with this mindset of looking
13:00 for the negativity, give it a rest, man.
13:03 This is such a fun team to follow.
13:06 This group might not look like what
13:08 it could have been if everybody was healthy,
13:11 but that's the NFL, right?
13:13 I mean, how many times do you look at good teams
13:15 that were an injury or two away from being great?
13:20 The reality is the Browns are finding ways to win games that--
13:24 I don't want to say they have no business winning,
13:27 but you would look on paper and be like,
13:28 no starting quarterback, no starting running back,
13:30 no starting two offensive tackles,
13:32 banged up here, there, and everywhere else.
13:34 How are they still winning games?
13:35 It's because they have that mentality.
13:37 They have that desire to do what it
13:39 takes to win those close games.
13:41 And that's a pretty unique thing in the NFL.
13:43 You don't always get that kind of buy-in.
13:45 So it was cool to hear Miles acknowledge
13:48 that it hasn't always been quite like that here in Cleveland,
13:52 but that it is like it now, and that he
13:54 feels this is a pretty special team because there's
13:57 a pretty good vibe going on right now.
13:59 I mean, the vibe around this group is second to none.
14:01 And I agree with what you said.
14:02 Let's ditch the negativity.
14:04 Let's ditch the, hey, we could have been this,
14:07 could have been that.
14:08 This team is-- they love each other.
14:10 They love the city of Cleveland.
14:12 They love the Cleveland Browns uniform
14:13 and the helmet that they put on.
14:15 It's an awesome group.
14:16 And it's a fun one to root for because every time, hey,
14:19 when you're given everything you have
14:21 to be in the stadium on Sunday, they're
14:23 giving it all right back to you.
14:24 And it's awesome.
14:25 And I know I will say this before we wrap.
14:27 I know you and I were both there today.
14:29 The atmosphere today was second to none.
14:32 When you had Jimmy smashing the guitar to come out--
14:35 How cool was that?
14:37 And Nick Chubb, they had the Batman signal on the thing.
14:40 And they put Nick Chubb on the big board.
14:42 I mean, talk about a group and a team that just--
14:45 just a whole organization that feels so bought in from top
14:48 to bottom, from radio broadcaster to defensive end.
14:52 Like, everyone from there in between
14:54 just feels like everyone is pulling in the right direction
14:56 for this group.
14:58 Kevin Stefanski stood up at the podium postgame
15:00 and said that he's going to hand deliver, personally,
15:03 a game ball to Jim Donovan because of how much he
15:05 means to this team.
15:06 I mean, how cool is that?
15:08 For Jim to be down here and firing up the crowd,
15:11 smashing the guitar at the beginning of the game.
15:13 To have Gary Lovax from Rascal Flats
15:15 rip an unbelievable national anthem.
15:17 To have a little kid just riffing on a guitar
15:20 between the third and fourth quarter.
15:22 I mean, he couldn't have been more than 10 years old.
15:24 And it was as though he was already in the Hall of Fame
15:27 next door.
15:28 It was a really cool day.
15:30 Never a doubt, ever.
15:31 It's always going to be a Browns win.
15:33 13 to 10, the final score.
15:34 I felt good the whole time, man.
15:36 I felt good the whole time.
15:38 What a day.
15:39 Cleveland got out to an early good start.
15:40 The defense played great early and needed to hang on late
15:44 as DTR guided the team down the field for a game-winning field
15:47 goal drive just before time expired.
15:49 Plenty more to come over on Browns Digest.
15:51 We certainly appreciate you joining us
15:53 for our instant reaction post-game show.
15:55 But in the meantime, we will have some other video content
15:57 posted for you on our YouTube channel.
15:59 We'd appreciate it if you subscribe to that as well.
16:01 But for all the latest news and info on the team,
16:03 keep it locked in, BrownsDigest.com.
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