Each week during the regular season, a Browns player would step in front of cameras, microphones and digital recorders held by reporters and reveal “We’re trying to go 1-0 this week” no matter who their opponent was.
This time they really, really mean it.
“Each week we say we’re trying to go 1-0, and there’s possibly a game right after that,” linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said in the locker room Jan. 9 before practice in Berea. “This one is more like, we really, really embrace that concept and that motto to go 1-0, so it does intensify it a bit.
“I’m not one that’s going to lessen the game and say, ‘Oh, it’s just a regular game.’ The city of Cleveland has been waiting for this game, right? The organization has been waiting for this game. It’s not just another game.”
The Browns, 11-5 in the regular season, visit the AFC South champion Texans in a wild-card playoff game at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 13 in Houston.
The “Our goal is to go 1-0 this week” mantra is heightened since a game next week isn’t guaranteed, says #Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. pic.twitter.com/H0RncBbWCr
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) January 9, 2024
Owusu-Koramoah, in his third season, is one of more than 40 players who were not part of the Browns team that made the playoffs in 2020. That team beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in a wild-card game and then lost to the Chiefs in the divisional round.
The Browns did not practice Jan. 8, a day after losing to the Bengals in the regular season finale, but they did hold a team meeting. Several players stood and spoke about their playoff experiences. One of them was Joe Flacco. Flacco has been with the Browns less than two months, but he was 10-5 in the playoffs with Baltimore and was the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII when the Ravens beat the 49ers, 34-31. He spoke, and players listened.
“Everybody puts so much thought into what it takes to win these games,” Flacco said when asked about his message to the team. “It’s doing the simple things the best you can and just playing good fundamental football. This is the time of the year where that stuff shows up.
“Obviously, there are going to be plays made and guys are going to make a name for themselves. Something’s going to happen over the next five weeks that we’re going to remember forever. Those are the things that you kind of see. But it’s just about playing fundamental, physical football and playing a full 60 minutes.”
Sione Takitaki was a rookie linebacker with the Browns on the 2020 playoff team. He spoke in the team meeting Jan. 8 and told his teammates that this team is more tightly knit than the one from three years ago.
“I was talking to Takitaki earlier,” JOK said. “The team that we had in 2020 wasn’t as close as it is now, so I think that that’s something to be proud of in reference to the culture that we have and we are continuing to build here.”
Takitaki spoke to a small group of reporters after Owusu-Koramoah talked and clarified what he meant about the 2023 team being closer. He wasn’t knocking the 2020 players or coaches.
“The 2020 season was different because of COVID,” Takitaki said. “We couldn’t be around each other. We had meetings online. We couldn’t have team meetings together.
“We didn’t get the time you’d have in the meeting with each other or even the time outside the building with each other. It made a lot of things awkward.
“This time we were able to be around each other all year and build those relationships. I feel it’s paying off for us going into the playoffs. There’s an extra oomph we have with all the veteran presence with players and coaches.”
Flacco and wide receiver Amari Cooper are the most important additions on the player side since the 2020 playoff team. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone are the key coaching additions.
BROWNS AT TEXANS
What: AFC wild-card game
When: 4:30 p.m., Jan. 13
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston
Records: Browns 11-6, Texans 10-7
TV: WKYC (Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge announcing)
Radio: WKRK-FM 92.3, WNCX-FM 98.5, WKKY-FM 104.7, WKNR-AM 850 (Jim Donovan and Nathan Zegura announcing)
