The Cleveland Browns began the 2012 regular season with Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns Stadium and rookie defensive tackle 
A sixth-round pick of the Browns out of Boise State University in April’s draft, Winn made the start in his first NFL game next to veteran and former sixth-rounder from 2008,
“It was exciting,” Winn said. “To go out there and be able to start a game at this level, it felt great. There’s a lot more games in this season and we all have to go out and execute our job. Hopefully, we’re able to do that.
“We made some mistakes and today, it was back to work, back to business. We’ll go out there on Wednesday and see what we’ve improved on. We made mistakes on both sides of the ball and we’ve just got to go out there and finish.”
Winn said the Browns’ coaches emphasized two points leading up to the game against the Eagles: “executing your responsibility” and “doing your job.”
“I think I played well,” Winn said. “Like I said, we made some mistakes, made some mistakes that hurt us a little bit, but today, it’s back to work, back to the meetings. You go out there and you focus on what you made your mistakes on and you progress from there.”
Winn registered two total tackles, including the first stop of the game. On the Eagles’ first play, quarterback Michael Vick handed the ball off to running back LeSean McCoy, whom Winn took down in the backfield for a six-yard loss.
Compared to the four preseason games, Winn felt there was a different mindset on the field during Sunday’s contest.
“During the preseason, it’s kind of like going out there, getting used to the scheme of things and whatnot, trying to find yourself and where you fit on the field,” Winn said. “Once the season starts, it’s a whole different attitude, a whole different mentality. You’re going out there 100 percent trying to win.
“The tempo of the game is a lot faster than it was in college. Just that physical nature, it was a lot different than college. You just have to accept it. The biggest thing is going out there and competing against the guy in front of you. That’s what it comes down to, going out there and giving everything you’ve got and competing.”
Winn took many lessons from going through a full week of work for an NFL regular season game, but the most important lesson of all was, “Just finish.”
“You finish everything out on that field,” Winn said. “Whether it’s your pass rush, whether it’s your coverage, we just have to finish everything.”
