First it was David Njoku's Chief Slam with Baker Mayfield mimicking the celebration behind Njoku after the second-year tight end caught a 3-yard fade route for a touchdown.
Then Rashard Higgins took a walk down the red carpet with his teammates flanking him as would-be paparazzi. Higgins earned that walk with a 17-yard catch, run and leap into the end zone.
The Browns ensured their crowd enjoyed itself during Sunday's 26-18 win over Cincinnati. And the best way they knew how to do that was to make sure the players enjoyed themselves on the field.
"Winning is hard so you need to be able to enjoy it," Mayfield said. "It makes it fun and enjoyable to be able to celebrate with your teammates. You go through so much, you better enjoy it."
Mayfield's offense didn't hog all the fun, however. When Chris Smith helped Genard Avery tackle Joe Mixon in the backfield during the first quarter, he rubbed his belly in celebration. Smith's explanation?
"I love to eat," he said. "I could eat all day. I just tried to refer that football."
Smith's, Njoku's and Higgins' celebrations are the byproduct of an intense week of work culminating in weekend success. The Browns earn the right to celebrate the spoils of their hard labor by grinding during the week. Running back Nick Chubb said the enjoyable atmosphere carries over into practice, too, which, to Chubb, is a sign of much more than positive team chemistry.
"From my past, playing on different teams, when you're having fun in practice and it's flying by, that shows you're on a great team," Chubb said.
Of course, it shouldn't be a surprise that Chubb and his teammates enjoy themselves while living out their childhood dreams. They get paid well to play their favorite sport, and as Smith said, "When I stop having fun playing this game, I'm gonna retire."
It's supposed to be fun on Sundays. But of course, it's more fun when you win, which the Browns are doing consistently for the first time in a few years. And that was Mayfield's point, which Williams echoed. When you work as hard as the Browns do to succeed, you deserve a walk down the red carpet, a pat on the belly or even a Chief Slam. And the more teammates involved, the better.
"It is always extremely important that you enjoy the celebrations of a win, enjoy the celebrations of a team," Williams said. "I think it is important that you see that if it is an offensive celebration, that the defensive guys are fired up. When it is a defensive celebration, you see the offensive guys fired up. You see a team celebration."
