BEREA, Ohio — Heading into the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, there was a different energy in the locker room. In fact, that energy had started to shift the week before heading into the Ravens game. A foundation had been growing, fostered by a disdain for the record in which the team holds—and nourished with a little throwback playlist blaring as they got ready for the game.
On the Friday before the Browns departed for Baltimore, the locker room felt different. Laughter rang through the room, fun jabs thrown between guys, positivity was palpable just by stepping foot through the doors. The defense in particular seemed to be in a good place. And that carried into the game, despite the loss.
It remained to be seen after that loss if the Browns could kindle that energy again or if it had been lost in their fourth straight defeat.
Then, the Browns turned up the music.
“If you listen to Joel Bitonio, it was the music in the locker room being played," said defensive end Myles Garrett, smiling across the room at Bitonio, who sat at his locker after practice. "We don’t usually play music in the locker room, all of a sudden guys are flying around and making plays all over the field. So maybe we need to play more music. I don’t know if it was the 90s, rap but we have to find something that everybody can get jamming to and wanting to play as hard as they can with.”
It may have been in jest, but Bitonio and Garrett might be on to something. Maybe it didn't need to be 90s rap specifically (although that is a fantastic choice), but rather just a moment for everyone to get on the same page. Feel the same energy. Have fun and let loose.
Because if it was the music, it worked. The Browns played their first game of complementary football all season. While the offense sputtered a bit to start, the defense held strong. There was never a dip in production when things didn't go one side's way, they kept fighting for each other.
Garrett has strategized his approach to continuing that energy.
“You just uplift them. We’re all in here, we see each other all the time. Just make sure you stay on your guys. It’s not just negative, ‘you need to get better’—’y’all are doing well.’ We need to pick each other up. 'We’ll pick up the slack when y’all aren’t,'" Garrett said. "And when they’re doing great you got to let them know, and we have been because most of the season they’ve been doing solid. And we’ve had our times, the last two games we’ve been doing pretty well and I think right now we’re hitting our stride as far as just playing complementary off each other.”
Now, whether you're one to believe in music changing the energy of the team or not, there were other motivating factors—like the 2-5 record they were entering the game with.
Garrett confessed that with it being a must-win game and knowing the success they'd had against the Bengals in recent years, "if there’s a game we should start to make the step forward, this is the one."
The defensive end has an idea of what it will take to keep the energy built—maybe by a disappointing record, or maybe because of some Snoop Dogg and Biggie Smalls to jam to—and that comes down to pure dedication.
“It’s that attention to detail. Falling in love with doing the little things and then executing out on the field. And I think everyone’s really falling in line and doing that," Garrett said.
On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt may have described it best, knowing that how they played against the Bengals is exactly what they need to take into the game against the Dolphins Sunday and every game after that.
"We really need to complement each other, this week especially. I think it showed up a little bit in the Cincinnati game. We turned the ball over and put them in some bad spots. They got them to punt or got the ball back for us," Van Pelt said. "That's going to be big down the second half of the season is playing complementary football – desperate football or however you want to say it right now. We're a hungry team right now. We know that we can be good when we all play at our level of expectation. Complementary football down the second half would be great.”
Camryn Justice is a reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.
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