Browns earn four awards at NFL Honors

The four awards – and recipients of each – encapsulated all that the Browns went through during the 2023 season. From putting one of the top defenses in the league out on the field each week – anchored by a player in Garrett who teams had to game plan for – to signing a quarterback 12 weeks into the season who led the Browns to a playoff berth, and a head coach who led them through the ups and downs of the season.

The Browns dealt with adversity throughout the 2023 season, losing key starters and role players to season-ending injuries from Week 1. They started five different quarterbacks over the course of the season and relied on the next man up mentality, which the entire roster embodied over the course of the season.

Through it all, they clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2020 in Week 17 against the Jets. They won 11 regular season games, which tied for the second-most in team history, trailing just the 1986 team's 12 wins. The Browns finished the regular season 8-1 at home, which set a team record for wins at home.

After the Browns lost to the Texans in the Wild Card round, bringing an end to their season many of the players and Stefanski reflected on just what the 2023 season meant to the group. They recognized the uniqueness of the group in the locker room, from how the defense celebrated successes throughout games, offensive players picked one another up off the field and fully bought into the mentality of going 1-0 each week. The lived by the mentality of next man up, seeing young players and backup players step into key roles throughout the season and gain crucial in-game experience.