BEREA, Ohio — Ahead of the Browns' first playoff game against the Texans on Saturday, News 5’s sports reporter Camryn Justice sat down for a one-on-one interview with left guard Joel Bitonio.
The interview will air in our Browns play-off special on News 5 on Thursday night.
Bitonio was recently announced as a starter for the Pro Bowl Games, and this year’s will mark his sixth appearance in the games.
The text of this interview was edited for clarity and length.
Camryn Justice: Joel, how does it feel to be in the playoffs?
Joel Bitonio: It's special. I try to tell the young guys, like, ‘You can't take this for granted.’ Like, you never know when it's gonna come back. You think you have a great team, you think you're building a great culture, but you really never know.
CJ: You've been a part of this organization for a long time, and there were a lot of years in that there wasn't success.
JB: Some of the guys have actually, when they come on the team, like, ‘Oh, how was those years?’ And I was like, ‘it was miserable.’ Like I didn't even, I got so numb to losing. I didn't realize how much fun winning was till we started winning again. And I was like, ‘man, this is great.’ Like, ‘how did I do it for those years?’ So even me, I kind of like put it in the back corner. It was dark football days, for sure. You know, there was a stretch there. Three years of, like me, not experiencing an actual on-field win when you're just fighting for a win. You never, it's hard to be like, ‘yeah, next year we'll make the playoffs’ or, you know, ‘we're gonna, we're gonna make a run at this thing.’
CJ: 2020, you guys make the playoffs for the first time in your career. What did that feel like?
JB: It was emotional. It was, it almost didn't feel real because I had experienced so many losing seasons, and I was like, ‘man, this is, this is what it feels like,’ and it was, I just kind of sat there for a moment. I was like, ‘all right, like, I'm not taking this for granted like we have, we have a chance,’ and it was a very, very cool moment.
CJ: Here you are three years later, back in the playoffs; the moment that you clinched felt like that was a really special one, tight. Thursday night football at home in front of the fans.
JB: You felt their energy all year. I think, you know, the Cleveland Browns stadium is one of the tougher places to play. Now, I think if you look at our record and just, just the way the season went, to clinch in front of the home fans, just feel their energy and their celebration on a Thursday night in front of a national audience. It was very special.
CJ: This year didn't maybe feel at the start like this was going to be the outcome. You lose Nick Chubb in Week 2, all of the other injuries and adversity throughout the season. How do you feel now, looking back at all you guys have overcome to get to this point?
JB: Nick Chubb is, is such a special person and player and, and Deshaun, you know, we felt like it was coming into his own and, and our tackles and I mean, there's so many guys that we've, we've lost that we wish could, could be here with us, but coach is stressed all year, you know, being a resilient team going one to know every week. And when you really truly have that mindset as a team, it's hard to think too much into it. So you lose a guy like Nick Chubb, and you go to the next week, and you're like, ‘all right, how do we win this game?’ And you find a way to win it. You know, and then you move on to the next week and, and there's definitely times where, like, ‘are we gonna be able to overcome this as a team?’ And we went to practice, we worked, and we found a way to get another win. So, the way it's been built up this year, I think it's just a true testament to the culture of the team and what Coach Stefanski and Andrew Barry have built.
CJ: What is something you learned in 2020 that you can impart on some of the guys who weren't on this team then?
JB: Once you get out there, once, you know, pregames up and maybe the first drives over for each side, it's like, ‘all right, we're just playing football again. It's 11 on 11. Who's gonna be more fundamentally sound, who's gonna make the plays when it matters?’ And it's truly all your focus is on going one and, oh, because nothing else is promised. So we got one week we can put everything we have into playing against the Houston Texans and trying to find a way to win because we don't know what's gonna happen after this anyway. So that's all we got right now. And I think the guys are focused on that, and it's truly something that just, hey, we'll take it one play at a time and see what happens after 60 minutes.
CJ: Why do you think you guys might have some more success now that you've been through it in the playoffs, knowing that you're out there?
JB: It's always a challenge to go on the road. We know Houston is gonna be a loud atmosphere; you know, we played there earlier this year. But I think the guys are focused and resilient, and as a team, we gotta be road warriors; we're gonna be road warriors at some point this year. And, you know, no better time than now. We gotta make a run in the playoffs, most likely on the road. And it's something we, you know, we look forward to.
CJ: The Dawg Pound travels.
JB: The Dawg Pound does travel. I've always been impressed every time we travel; there's always a good amount, and if we ever win the game on the road, you notice it because they all move to the lower bowl at the end of the game, and you run out of the tunnel. It's like, ‘oh, it feels like a home game here,’ but I do think we're gonna travel, you know, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a fun atmosphere. We know they're a talented team, and they're exciting as well. So, I think it's a great start to the playoffs and, but we're ready to play. It's gonna be fun, I think it's gonna be fun.
