Coaches have plenty of ways to explain a blowout loss. They can point to injuries, a bad bounce early in the game or a tough road environment, and sometimes those explanations are fair. Other times, the honest answer is simpler. Todd Monken chose the simple answer after Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com shared Monken’s reaction to the 27-6 loss to the Steelers.
“We earned that one,” Monken said.
#Browns Todd Monken on the loss to the #Steelers: “We earned that one” pic.twitter.com/y5Nt6D1KPj
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) November 1, 2026
Those 4 words put the blame exactly where Monken believes it belongs. The Browns did not lose because of a fluke play or a questionable call. They lost because they beat themselves in nearly every phase of the game.
The list of mistakes was long. Cleveland committed 9 penalties for 85 yards, including 2 taunting calls late while trailing by 21. The Browns lost 2 fumbles, went 0-for-3 in the red zone and failed on both 4th-down attempts. Deshaun Watson was sacked 8 times, and Pittsburgh outrushed Cleveland 200 to 34.
Monken’s response fits how he has handled setbacks all season. After the 34-10 loss in Jacksonville to open the year, he said the result caught him off guard and described a chippy practice week that followed. After the 17-12 loss to the New York Jets, he said his team was not clean enough. Even after wins over the Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans, he called out the penalties and sloppiness that kept those games close.
That honesty has worked before. The Browns answered the Week 1 blowout with 3 straight wins, and they bounced back from the Jets loss by beating the Baltimore Ravens and Titans.
This one may be harder to shake. The loss cost Cleveland 1st place in the AFC North, with Pittsburgh moving to 6-2, and it extended the Browns’ regular-season losing streak in Pittsburgh to 23 games, tying an NFL record.
Monken now has to show that accepting the blame leads to change. The penalties and lack of composure have been a theme since September, and Sunday showed what happens when they combine with a physical opponent that does not make mistakes.
At 5-3, they are still in the playoff race, but they cannot afford another afternoon like this one. Monken made it clear the Browns earned this loss, and now they have to earn their way back.
NEXT: Everyone Was Saying The Same Thing After Browns’ Loss To Steelers
