CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are in the midst of a four-week stretch that includes three prime time games, and their latest appearance on Monday Night Football requires a cross-country trip to the Bay Area.
The Browns (2-2) will play the San Francisco 49ers (3-0) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and it will be their second road Monday Night Football game in the last four weeks, as they defeated the New York Jets, 23-3.
And while there are no shortage of challenges awaiting in the prime time games, Browns coach Freddie Kitchens recognizes the importance of playing on the national stage.
“I would have made the schedule differently, but they did not ask me when they did it,” Kitchens said. “We are very happy for our fans. To play these prime time types games, it is exciting for our fans. We just want to put our best foot forward for that particular week, whatever time the game is.”
The Monday Night Football game at San Francisco will be the Browns’ third road matchup of the season and second straight, as they are coming off of a 40-25 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore last Sunday.
“Anytime you leave Cleveland, it is difficult,” Kitchens said. “The length of travel adds another piece of adversity. A Monday night game adds another piece of adversity -- more attention. This team is doing a lot of things for the first time. I think they have handled it very well.
“The ones that we have not handled very well, we have gotten better. We have identified a problem, and then, rectified that problem, like we were trying to do during training camp when we would have a bad day at practice.
“All of those pieces kind of come together, and then, you get into the midst of everything and you can pull from those experiences that you have had. I expect our guys to handle this well, and as long as you stay focused and stay in the moment, we will be fine.”
The Browns enter this week’s game at San Francisco on the heels of something they had not done since December 22, 2002, and that was earn a regulation victory over the Ravens in Baltimore.
Behind a stout rushing performance from running back Nick Chubb, a breakout showing from tight end Ricky Seals-Jones and a career day from Jarvis Landry before he suffered a concussion, the Browns earned the 15-point victory over the Ravens (2-2).
It was the Browns’ first win of any kind in Baltimore since October 11, 2015, which came in overtime, and it was a critical one, as the victory put Cleveland into first place in the AFC North Division after the first quarter of the 2019 regular season.
“We really go back and coach them, and we better be coaching them every day because our guys, their desire for information is very high and we need to give them that,” Kitchens said of the focus of the players. “We need to give them good information. We need to give them good answers to their questions.
“It is definitely better after a win. I think our guys have bought into that, which is crucial during the course of a 16-game season. You can only play one game a week, so you better be focused. Each game is precious.”