'Can't write a better story than me': Ogbo Okoronkwo excited for Houston homecoming
CINCINNATI — Ogbo Okoronkwo is going back to Houston.
For the Browns defensive end, that means more than just facing the Texans in Saturday afternoon's AFC Wild Card game. It's more than going back to face a team for whom he spent the 2022 season playing.
It means going back home.
"I'm going home," Okoronkwo said after the regular-season finale Sunday at the Cincinnati Bengals. "Let's get it. Let's get it. Look, winning in my city — can't write a better story than me."
There's a little hint of truth to that statement. The homecoming for Okoronkwo was actually supposed to be like a Christmas special, when the Browns played at the Texans in Week 16 of the regular season.
The only problem for Okoronkwo was that he was still recovering from a pectoral muscle injury he sustained two weeks earlier in a Week 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. So he was unable to play in the Browns' 36-22 win on Christmas Eve.
Okoronkwo joked about the storybook feel to it following Sunday's regular-season finale.
"I mean, I sort of knew," Okoronkwo said. "I read the script, so I knew I was going to miss that game. So the writers, they're doing a fantastic job."
It has been a kind of Hollywood-like twist to find Okoronkwo available to play in the playoff opener. The injury he sustained against the Jaguars was initially feared to be season-ending for one of the Browns' major free-agent acquisitions who had 4.5 regular-season sacks.
However, at the end of the season — the regular season, that is — there was Okoronkwo on the field in Cincinnati He didn't play a lot of snaps, just 11, but that's 11 more than anyone expected him to play four weeks earlier.
"Ogbo, really we're excited about getting him back," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after the Bengals game. "I mean, he's such a big part of our success, of our team, of just everything we do. So excited to see (No.) 54 back out there."
Okoronkwo did have a harness on his left shoulder to help with the injury. He indicated it wasn't an issue for him during the game, or while he's worn it in practice.
What was just as good a sign for both he and the Browns was the way he felt in the locker room after the game. Okoronkwo was all smiles as he talked about his return and the lack of soreness after his return.
"It was cool," Okoronkwo said. "It was real cool. I'm not sore at all right now, so that's a good sign. It's just going to keep getting better every day. So I'm excited about the run that we're gonna make."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ogbo Okoronkwo excited for Houston homecoming in Browns' playoff game
