Before taking on the Denver Broncos in Week 13 — a game they lost, 41-32, on Monday night — Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski attempted to rally and motivate his group in a rather odd way.
HBO cameras were rolling in the meeting room as Stefanski addressed his team, telling the players they had officially made the playoffs with a 3-8 record.
The “Hard Knocks: In Season” clip, which includes colorful language, has since gone viral.
Kevin Stefanski on #HardKnocks with the #Browns sitting at 3-8 (now 3-9): "Who wants to be in the playoffs? Raise your hand. Guess what? You're in the f*ckin' playoffs! You wanna be in the playoffs? Congratulations you've made it to the playoffs!" Even the players look puzzled. pic.twitter.com/bcx9mxFghV
— Roberto Shenanigans (@Rob_Shenanigans) December 5, 2024
“Who wants to be in the playoffs, raise your hand,” Stefanski asks as players raise their hands. “Guess what? You’re in the f—–g playoffs!”
The comment draws more confusion than celebration as only a small handful of players offer a golf clap. Others appears to look around confused.
“You want to be in the playoffs? Congratulations, you’ve made it to the playoffs,” Stefanski says while going over the team’s remaining schedule. “Warriors win first and then go to battle.”
The Browns had a much clearer road to the playoffs before their loss to the Broncos but they are still mathematically alive. And if you want to get technical about it, Cleveland is in a non-official version of the playoffs because they’ll need to win out and have several other things go their way in order to reach the postseason.
Still, it was a rather odd message for a 3-8 team and something that will be harder for Stefanski to deliver now that they’ve fallen to 3-9 since that clip was recorded.
