A Different Browns Team

The Cleveland Browns franchise has struggled mightily over the years, and their stadium was once nicknamed “The Factory of Sadness.” Between devastating losses, draft busts, and a revolving door at quarterback, the team's identity has been that of a losing franchise.

After their rough Week 1 loss to the Jaguars, we thought, "It's just the same old Browns." However, the 2026 season is revealing that this team is different, as they are off to a 3-1 start, winning 3 straight.

Last night’s huge Thursday Night Football win at home against the Steelers showed the national audience that things have changed. They won 27-24, and even though they let the Steelers back in, they still held strong and finished with a 56-yard game-winning field goal.

In recent years, the Browns have drafted well and added key pieces on both sides of the ball, giving them a new core to build around.

Last night, second-year running back Quinshon Judkins rushed for a touchdown, rookie wide receiver Denzel Boston proved once again to be a legitimate go-to receiver with 4 receptions for 89 yards, and second-year tight end Harold Fannin Jr. found the end zone for the third time this season. 

Quarterback Deshaun Watson is a veteran, but he looks different and is showing he can still be a starter in this league as he moves forward from his checkered past on and off the field.

A lot of credit also goes to new head coach Todd Monken, who is implementing a fresh approach. As a headline on Cleveland.com puts it, Todd Monken is Building Something Different in Cleveland.

Kevin Patra wrote on NFL.com, “These Browns aren’t those Browns.”

The Browns acquired Jared Verse from the Rams in the offseason, and at the time, ClevelandBrowns.com ran the headline, Acquisition of Jared Verse Solidifies a New Era for the Browns.

After last night’s win, Verse said, “This ain’t the old Browns. We’ve got new swag. We’re a lot more aggressive, a lot more, you know, getting after it. This is something different here. We’re going to make this whole city rock.” 

Together, this new group of players and coaches has changed the identity of the Cleveland Browns, and it was an incredible night for Browns fans to see their team beat a division rival on the big stage.

Now the Browns must keep showing they are no longer the “Same Old Browns” and that they have a new identity. They have the opportunity to embrace a different approach and mindset, and ultimately believe they can move past the history of losing and who they used to be.

We talk a lot about identity in sports and life, and it can be defined as “the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is.”

Identity “refers to our sense of who we are as individuals and as members of social groups...and our sense of how others may perceive and label us.”

The Browns’ identity has changed, which means the way they play, what they believe to be true, the results, and how others view them are now different. 

When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we experience a deeper, more critical identity change. We move from the “same old ___” who can’t seem to win, full of disappointment and old patterns of sin, to a new creation. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP) explains, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].”

The question becomes, do we really believe that our identity has changed? Do we believe that we are now God’s child, declared forgiven, more than conquerors, a member of the body of Christ, and freed from the bondage of sin? What happens when the “opposing team” starts to make a comeback?

When Jesus takes over, our lives and our identity are rooted in Him. He then changes our approach and mindset and helps us believe we can move past our history of losing and who we used to be.

Ephesians 4:24 (NLT) tells us to “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”

When our identity is in Christ, the way we “play,” what we believe to be true, the results, and how others view us also change.

Today, let’s be reminded that if we are in Christ, then our identity (our sense of who we are and our characteristics) must be based on who He is, what He’s done for us, and who He says we are…because we are no longer the “Same Old Browns”!

Let’s declare the same thing Paul does in Galatians 2:20 (NIV): “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I’m so thankful that through Christ I have been made new. I pray that You help me believe and understand that my identity has truly changed and I’m not who I used to be. I pray that You continue to transform me, and when people see me, they will see Jesus shining through. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.