Todd Monken did not gloat. Minutes after the Cleveland Browns beat the Baltimore Ravens 13-10 on Andre Szmyt’s field goal as time expired on Sunday, the Browns’ first-year head coach used his postgame press conference to thank the organization he left in January and to steer the credit toward his locker room.
“I owe a lot to coach Harbaugh for hiring me there,” Monken said of John Harbaugh, who brought him to Baltimore as offensive coordinator for three seasons. He went further and said he would not be a head coach today without the Ravens, while calling the matchup what it was on the standings page: a division game against a club he respects from the front office down.
LIVE: HC Todd Monken and select players speak to the media after our win against the Ravens @CanadaDry | #DawgPound https://t.co/ej16Yf1LW6
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 18, 2026
The win put Cleveland at 4-2 and level with Baltimore at the top of the AFC North, the first time the Browns have shared first place this deep into a season since 2014. Monken said the result belonged to the players, and he described the group as special.
How the players earned it
The comeback Monken pointed to was built on defense. Baltimore scored on its first two possessions, a 2-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Huntley to rookie tight end Josh Cuevas and a 34-yard Tyler Loop field goal, and then did not score again. Cleveland’s offense managed only 46 yards in the first half.
The turn came in the fourth quarter. Tyson Campbell recovered a Derrick Henry fumble in Ravens territory, and Audric Estime ran in from 2 yards out to tie the game at 10 with 8:33 to play. Henry finished with 58 yards on 17 carries.
The final drive is the reason Jerry Jeudy left with a game ball from his coach. On third-and-5, Deshaun Watson found him for 33 yards to the Baltimore 29. Szmyt, who had missed from 48 yards with 3:44 left, then had his first winning try blocked, but the Ravens were flagged for offside. From 5 yards closer, his 37-yard kick went through on the final snap. Watson finished 16 of 26 for 164 yards, and Jeudy caught four passes for 69.
Reporter asks Todd Monken how good it feels to beat the Ravens. Monken said he wouldn’t have this job w/o them… Later added: This is all about the players. #browns pic.twitter.com/ABRSzGLTrF
— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) October 18, 2026
The week before, and the business of it
Monken had kept the same tone all week, saying before kickoff that facing Baltimore was business rather than personal. Several Ravens had described a coach who talks plenty of trash on the practice field, and the meeting carried extra weight because Baltimore again played without Lamar Jackson, who missed a second straight game with an ankle injury.
The cost for Cleveland was on the injury report. Safety Grant Delpit was ruled out with a concussion in the first quarter and linebacker Justin Jefferson hurt his hip; our Browns injury story has the details. The full box score is in the Ravens-Browns Game Center.
What comes next
The Browns visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, October 25, at 1:00 p.m. EDT (Game Center). Baltimore hosts the Cincinnati Bengals at the same hour, with Jackson’s ankle the first question of its week.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.