Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (9.22.22)
Opening statement:
“Injury front, A-Walk (LB Anthony Walker Jr.) has a knee sprain. We will get an MRI on that. JOK (LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) groin injury. (DT) Taven Bryan hamstring. (LT) Jed Wills (Jr.) had a knee injury but went back in. (S) Ronnie Harrison (Jr.), hamstring, was not able to play.
“That is just a great team win. I am really proud of those guys for fighting. Short week with all of the thing with last Sunday. For those guys to come through, first of all just battled to make it to this game which is not easy, but then to fight for 60 minutes, I thought it was really a team win. I think it was offense, defense and special teams all working together to get a W in front of our fans who were outstanding tonight. I really felt they brought it.”
On what went through his mind during the onside kick inside:
“A lot (laughter).”
On QB Jacoby Brissett’s performance tonight:
“He was solid. Didn’t start fast. There were a couple of throws I think he want maybe throw/reads or play calls that we did not start fast enough. That is me. I have to get him going early and get our offense going early so I will take that. Made some throws and made some big throws in big moments. Battled. He is doing a nice job.”
On TE David Njoku’s performance both catching and blocking:
“I think that is the thing with Dave. We have talked about it. There are games where coverage dictates the ball goes elsewhere, and he blocks his rear end off. He needs this weekend to rest because we had him out there. He was blocking at the point of attack, working hard in the run game and making plays in the pass game. He really played hard.”
On the performance of the Browns defense in the second half:
“Held them to three points in the second half. Guys played hard. Guys played hard. I thought we were assignment sound, flying around to the football and tackling together. It is never perfect as we know. There are things that I know we will clean up. After wins and losses, we have to clean a lot of things up, but really proud of how those guys responded.”
On WR Amari Cooper becoming the first Browns receiver in nine years to post back-to-back 100-yard games:
“I am trying to find new ways to tell you how impressed I am with No. 2. He is really, really smart. He is a great teammate. He runs every route imaginable – slants, go-balls, double moves or you name it. I just think he is so versatile. He is such a big, physical receiver. Trustworthy. I really enjoy No. 2.”
On the chemistry between Brissett and Cooper, especially in the past two games:
“They have been working very hard. I think that is early in the season for all of us you need to continue to get better and you need to continue to work on those type of things when it comes to the pass game. They did a nice job tonight.”
On if finishing the game was an even larger point of emphasis the past few days after last week’s los sto the NY Jets, understanding it is always a focus, and if the team went over late-game situations as a team across the league:
“We always do. That is what I told the team, I am just proud of them because that is not an easy thing to bounce back from. In this locker room, we talked about it on Sunday, and we talked about it on Monday. What I am proud of those guys is you can’t let a loss linger. We won’t let this win linger either. I am proud of how they responded. You have to be resilient.”
On Browns defensive players hosting a players-only meeting, was he aware of it and if it was effective:
“I was aware. That is football. You get together. I wouldn’t overstate it.”
On if Brissett had extra zip on his throws and if it was necessary, given how much the wind was blowing during the game tonight:
“It felt like the wind maybe died down throughout the night. I do not know if he had more zip than normal, but he had a good throwing session before the game. He was very confident.”
On what makes Brissett so effective on QB sneaks:
“Quarterback sneaks aren’t complicated. It is a matter of our guys getting low and coming off the ball, and he has a good feel for it.”
On if K Cade York’s missed PAT was caused by a gust of wind:
“I don’t know. I didn’t see it. He will be just fine.”
On LB Jacob Phillips, including if the team needs Phillips to step up in a larger role if Walker misses time due to the injury sustained tonight:
“I have been very excited about Jacob throughout this past year as we have talked about. Obviously, A-Walk was starting there, but I wouldn’t call that an indictment of Jacob. I think he is a really, really good football player and works so hard at this thing. I thought he played well tonight. It is a huge loss with Anthony Walker if this is a longer-term thing because we know what he brings to the football side of things, but he is a captain and he is a leader. We have our fingers crossed and definitely hoping for the best for No. 5.”
On describing RB Nick Chubb in one word:
“That is your job, not mine (laughter).”
On Chubb’s performance:
“We felt like Nick would have another good day today. He felt confident I think in a lot of the run schemes. He gives you an honest day’s work. He ran hard. He gets stronger as the game wears on. Part of that, you have to attribute to (RB) Kareem (Hunt) coming in there and taking the workload. That 1-2 punch, we have talked about it. It is 1A and 1B.”
On Gs Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller, including their pulling blocks, one of which opened a TD for Chubb:
“That whole offensive line, really it starts up front for us so it is the entire offensive line. Joel in particular, we talk about these Thursday night games, for him to make it to the game in the first place I think is a big deal He is a warrior. I don’t know how many starts he has in a row, but it is a lot. I thought he played physical. Across the front, those guys played really, really physical.”
On the Browns’ time of possession and long drives that also helped keep the Browns defense fresher:
“That is always the idea. It doesn’t always happen that way, but when you are running the ball as effectively as we were in the second half – I think the one touchdown drive had one pass – that is just going to churn the clock. You hope as a football team to be in moments where you need to run the clock out. Now, I felt like there were some moments there where we could even better in that regard. We call it four-minute runs when you want to get the first down and you want the clock to run. Our guys do a really nice job understanding that we have to come off of the ball and it is going to be mano-y-mano blocking.”
On the challenge for the Browns coaches bouncing back on the short week following the NY Jets loss and receiving criticism, in addition to the players:
“I don’t know if I would characterize it as that. I would just tell you, for us, we pour a lot into this thing. To come back in, be problem solvers and find solutions to things, I thought the coaches were really good.”
On winning in front of the home crowd at FirstEnergy Stadium after a tough home loss to the NY Jets:
“It is a long season. Like I mentioned to you, I thought the fans were unbelievable tonight. I have said this before and I hope they know this, they make a difference. When it is third down and they are that loud, it makes a huge difference for that opposing team. They had a huge hand in this, and I want them to celebrate tonight.”
On the benefits of having the mini-bye week following the Thursday night game to help clean things up:
“Yeah, for sure. Always when you are looking at where your Thursday game is, it is early for us, but I do think we get to rest and get some guys healthy hopefully going into the next game versus whomever we are playing.”
On P Corey Bojorquez landing two punts inside the 10-yard line:
“It was awesome. A lot of conversation on what to do there at the end. Once the clock became 15 seconds as opposed to maybe it was going to be seven second, I felt like that was the right thing to do with Corey, and he responded. First of all, the punt unit to protect knowing they were likely going to come after that thing and hit a beauty there, that was awesome.”
# # #
***Visit the Browns Media Center for materials provided by the Browns communications department, including media schedules, press releases, quotes, photos, media guides, rosters, depth charts and more.***