Joel Bitonio trying to make sure his 150th game with Browns isn't part of a 1-5 start
BEREA — Joel Bitonio's coming up on a milestone Sunday when the Browns play at the Philadelphia Eagles.
The six-time Pro Bowl left guard will make his 150th career regular-season appearance and his 150th career regular-season start. It would move him out of a 15th-place tie with Tom DeLeone for most games played by a Browns player.
What Bitonio's not interested in is turning game No. 150 into a 1-5 start to this season.
"We've got to find a way to win a game," Bitonio said Thursday. "That’s really where it's at, and then find a way to win the next one. There's definitely urgency. I'm not going to say panic, but we're urgent. We want to be urgent. We need to be as urgent as possible because it's a big game for us.
"But the guys, I think, understand what situation we're in, but I do think there is optimism that we can turn this thing around.”
Bitonio made his debut as a rookie in 2014, when the Browns opened the season under then-head coach Mike Pettine 7-4 before finishing with a five-game losing streak to end 7-9. Since then, he's been a part of just two winning seasons, but only two five-game starts worse than this year, when Cleveland started 0-5 in both 2016 and 2017.
Those two seasons to start worse than this one for Bitonio were also the final two season of Joe Thomas' Hall of Fame career with the Browns. Thomas only enjoyed one winning season over his 11-year career — a 10-6 rookie season in 2007 that didn't produce a playoff berth.
Now in this 11th season, Bitonio has matched Thomas in terms of years in the league. That perspective doesn't ease the pain, or the exasperation, of losing.
“Oh, it's incredibly frustrating," Bitonio said. "You want to win games, that's what you play the game. That's why I play the game. I'm in year 11. I've done everything I need to do in my career. I just want to win. And so it's incredibly frustrating, but that's why I'm here every day because we're going to work and we're going to try and do everything possible to win these games.
"But, yeah, if you come to work for any other reason — it's great, we get paid a ton of money, we get all this stuff — but at the end of the day, it's like, ‘How do you find a way to win?’”
The frustration created by that start is etched all over the 33-year-old's face. What's projected in his voice, though, is optimism.
Although Bitonio was part of two teams that went a combined 1-31, he's also been a part of two teams that went a combined 22-11 and made the playoffs. So, it's not like he doesn't know winning as well, and what it takes to not get lost in the moment, especially with 12 games still remaining.
“To me, it's easy because it's a week-to-week business," Bitonio said. "We have to play the Eagles this week. We have to win the game. Truthfully, in my head, we are 1-4, that's what our record is, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm playing this game the same way regardless.
"So you go out there, you give it 100%, you try and win this game and see what happens the next week.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Joel Bitonio wants to avoid 1-5 start in his 150th game with Browns
