The Cleveland Browns heard the noise and responded.
After being embarrassed in Week 1, Cleveland was a punching bag. Deshaun Watson was uneven in the opener, and his performance didn't inspire much confidence as he was named the starter. While players and coaches like to say they block out the noise, that wasn't the case for the Browns – who let it fuel them in Week 2.
The Browns pulled off a stunner against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, knocking them off 23-19 to notch their first win of the season. It took a two-hour lightning delay, but Cleveland finished the job and head coach Todd Monken was fired up.
"Browns are gonna Browns – f--- that, OK?” Monken said after the game. “The guys took that to heart.”
Monken appeared to be referencing Mike Tomlin's
jab during "Sunday Night Football" in Week 1. The former Pittsburgh Steelers coach trolled his former divisional foe on NBC by taking a page out of a former player's book.
"In the words of my friend JuJu Smith-Schuster, 'the Browns is the Browns,'" Tomlin said.
Monken was clearly irritated by the comments and defended his team in front of the media after Cleveland got its first win of the season.
"We needed it," Monken said. "Ultimately we're judged by wins and losses."
The coach proceeded to talk about the week of practice his team had, noting some skirmishes that broke out.
“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 showed plenty of fight on Sunday in Week 2. Now they'll try to back it up and start a winning streak when they take on the Carolina Panthers at home in Week 3.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Todd Monken fires back at Mike Tomlin after Browns win in Week 2
