Freddie Kitchens: We found out we can look adversity in the eyes and win a game

[Chomps]

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Ravens safety Earl Thomas said last week that he and his teammates were motivated by the “hype” that surrounded the Browns coming into the regular season, but that motivation didn’t help them much on Sunday.

With Baker Mayfield throwing for 342 yards, Nick Chubb running for three touchdowns and the defense forcing both sacks and turnovers, the Browns made that hype seem well-founded in a 40-25 road win. That effort came a week after a loss to the Rams dropped them to 1-2 amid a lot of chatter about why the team had not performed better to open the season.

Head coach Freddie Kitchens told Albert Breer of SI.com that he wasn’t looking forward to facing adversity so early in the season, but that he’s “always excited to find out who we are” in the face of a tough situation. Kitchens liked the team’s answer to that question.

“We found out that we can look adversity in the eyes and go into a home stadium and win a division game,” Kitchens said. “So how much more do you want to know about yourself?”

The Browns will now have to show they can put up that kind of effort on a regular basis. They’ll face the 3-0 49ers next Monday night and then return home to play the 3-1 Seahawks, so any stumbles will leave the team open to losses that pretty much put them back where they were heading into the game against Baltimore.