Postgame, Browns Kevin Stefanski notes how important Bengals game was to him

The Cleveland Browns thoroughly controlled, dominated and beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.

The Browns defense seemed to take exception to WR Ja’Marr Chase’s pregame comments, which he repeated after the game, and, perhaps, wanted to make a statement against the NFL’s newly crowned highest-paid player, QB Joe Burrow.

The Cleveland offense was far from consistent but RB Nick Chubb topped 100 yards rushing, QB Deshaun Watson had a couple of highlight plays and WR Elijah Moore even showed off his ability running the football.

HC Kevin Stefanski, not known for sharing much in public settings, also seemed to take the game personally. Early in his postgame speech, Stefanski said “You know how I felt about this game.” Clearly, something about Week 1 of this season against the AFC North and in-state rivalry got to the Browns head coach.

The win means Cleveland is tied atop the AFC North with early bragging rights over Cincinnati. Long-term, in a very tough division and conference, each win matters but those with the AFC could go a long way toward winning or losing tiebreakers at the end of the season.

Stefanski closed out by giving game balls to new DC Jim Schwartz and kicker Dustin Hopkins. He also reminded the team that “you don’t arrive after Week 1...” with the video concluding with a crisp clap from the team in unison.

Watch and listen here:

Why do you think this game was special/important to Stefanski? How do you think he did in his postgame speech? Talk it over in the comment section below: