Revenge games are a favorite storyline every NFL season. Players and coaches facing former teams are peppered with questions about extra motivation, inside knowledge and lingering emotions. Most do their best to brush those narratives aside, even when everyone knows the matchup means a little more. Todd Monken is taking that approach as he prepares to face the team he helped lead for the past few seasons.
Monken addressed Sunday’s matchup with the Baltimore Ravens this week and said the game is just like any other.
“Ultimately, I have a job to do. Just like I had a job to do (with the Ravens), just like I had a job to do in ‘19 (with the Browns). And the job is (to find) what I can do today to help our team get better and keep taking strides to play winning football. And that’s really all I think about. It’s a big game, division game, and it’s the next one,” Monken said.
Monken’s history with Baltimore is significant. He served as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator before taking the Browns job, and his first season there in 2023 ended with Lamar Jackson winning the league’s MVP award.
Monken knows Jackson’s strengths and tendencies as well as anyone, along with many of the weapons around him, including Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers. At the same time, Baltimore has plenty of film on how Monken likes to attack a defense.
The Browns are 3-2 after a frustrating loss to the New York Jets, and Baltimore arrives fresh off a win over the Atlanta Falcons. A home victory would keep Cleveland squarely in the AFC North race.
The challenge is enormous given the injury report.
Monken’s focus on improving each day fits how he has handled this season. After the blowout in Jacksonville, he challenged Deshaun Watson behind closed doors, and the Browns responded with 3 straight wins. He will need a similar response after Sunday’s setback in New Jersey.
Monken can insist this is just the next game, but a win over his former team would carry plenty of weight. Beating Jackson and the Ravens would prove the Browns can handle the best the division has to offer, and it would give Monken the kind of signature victory that defines a first season as a head coach.
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