Browns offense relied heavily on just a few players in Week 1 vs Bengals

The Cleveland Browns did a nice job with time of possession against the Cincinnati Bengals, having an advantage of 36 minutes to 24 minutes. Being 9-of-16 (56%) on third down was key in sustaining drive, and for not having a dynamic running game, QB Joe Flacco kept finding the open receiver. And yet, the offense was held to 16 points when it could have easily been two scores more. Drops by receivers at the wrong time, and missed kicks, did them in.

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense

for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Quarterback

Pos	Player	Plays	% Snaps	Stats
QB	Joe Flacco	76	100%	31-of-45 (69%) for 290 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. 2 carries, 6 yards (3.0 YPC).

• Joe Flacco was as sharp as I could have asked for. I don’t remember any risky throws he delivered. In fact, the amount of times he was able to find the open man was great. When a play wasn’t there, he did the level-headed thing and just threw the ball away. There were a couple of times when he bought time by rolling out, and found a receiver opening late.
• Casual NFL fans who look at the box score only will say, “Flacco still being risky with two interceptions, that must be why they lost.” Both balls required the receiver to go toward the ground on the catch, but they were not risky throws. They were safe, low balls, that only the Browns’ receiver could get. It’s a shame this loss goes on his record.
• Flacco graded out to a 73.1 by PFF, the third-highest grade on offense.

Running Back

Pos	Player	Plays	% Snaps	Stats
RB	Jerome Ford	41	54%	6 carries, 8 yards (1.3 YPC). 1 catch, -3 yards (1 target).
RB	Dylan Sampson	33	43%	12 carries, 29 yards (2.4 YPC). 8 catches, 64 yards (8 targets).
RB	Rocket Sanders	3	4%	3 carries, 3 yards (1.0 YPC), 1 TD.

• I wondered if the Browns would end up going with Dylan Sampson as the lead back, and for this week, they did. But long-term, the way he’ll be a weapon is with his reliability as a receiver. He caught all 8 passes thrown to him, and now only that, he consistently showed a burst after making those catches to quickly get up-the-field.
• Sampson graded out to a 70.8 on by PFF, the fourth-highest grade on offense.
• We’ll see if Quinshon Judkins can be available to be the lead running back next week. Things just weren’t there for any of the backs on the ground. Rocket Sanders did convert two third-and-short situations, including his first touchdown as a pro.

Wide Receiver

Pos	Player	Plays	% Snaps	Stats
WR	Jerry Jeudy	67	88%	5 catches, 66 yards (8 targets).
WR	Cedric Tillman	67	88%	5 catches, 52 yards (8 targets), 1 TD.
WR	Jamari Thrash	21	28%	1 catch, 6 yards (1 target).
WR	Isaiah Bond	21	28%	1 catch, 5 yards (1 target).

• It was a disappointing day for Jerry Jeudy. He tried to redeem it with some key catches on the drive that could have been setting up the game-winning field goal (which was missed). However, prior to that in the second half, he had a drop that bounced in the air for an interception, and then dropped a pass on the next drive on fourth down that would’ve set Cleveland up in scoring range.
• It must be contagious. Cedric Tillman was having a solid day, including catching Joe Flacco’s first touchdown pass of the season. However, in the two-minute drill (when Cleveland was still in good shape for a comeback drive), he also had a drop that bounced in the air and was intercepted. Drops are always frustrating, but not only were these drops, but these were not in traffic, and they were the type of low ball drops that they bobble up into the air for the lucky defender to pick off. Ugh.
• Jamari Thrash had one catch late in the game.
• Isaiah Bond had the team’s first catch of the season on a quick screen pass.

Tight End

Pos	Player	Plays	% Snaps	Stats
TE	David Njoku	64	84%	3 catches, 37 yards (6 targets).
TE	Harold Fannin	55	72%	7 catches, 63 yards (9 targets).
TE	Blake Whiteheart	3	4%	No stats registered.

• Fans were excited about the output that Harold Fannin had. It was encouraging to see him used in a variety of ways, and also, I really liked how on plays that broke down, he kept the play alive and followed the eyes of Flacco. That’s something you seldom see veteran players even do. Fannin also had a key drop in the second half that was his lone negative mark. However, out of all the team’s big drops, I forgive him the most because it did not lead to an interception, and also, it did look like he had to extend for the ball, making it a greater degree of difficulty.
• When you look at snap counts, Cleveland ran two-receiver, two-tight end sets for most of the game, meaning Fannin was essentially the third receiver.
• David Njoku was fired up any time he caught the ball. Hopefully we continue to see him getting involved with Flacco. There was a screen pass on third down of the opening drive that, if they had connected, looked like it could have gone for big yardage.

Offensive Line

Pos	Player	Plays	% Snaps	Stats
OL	Wyatt Teller	76	100%
OL	Ethan Pocic	76	100%
OL	Joel Bitonio	76	100%
OL	Dawand Jones	76	100%
OL	Cornelius Lucas	56	74%
OL	Jack Conklin	20	26%
OL	Adin Huntington	3	4%
OL	Teven Jenkins	1	1%
OL	Luke Wypler	1	1%
OL	Mason Graham	1	1%

• Jack Conklin left early with an eye injury after he was poked in the eye. Cornelius Lucas took his place.
• The interior of the offensive line really seemed to struggle at getting leverage in the run, which was a disappointment with all of the hype of the return to Kevin Stefanski’s offensive scheme. However, does the eye test lie? Because according to PFF, Joel Bitonio (81.1) and Wyatt Teller (75.2) were the top-two graded players on offense. To be fair, I didn’t see any issues from them in pass protection.
• I initially thought Dawand Jones appeared to do a solid job early on against Trey Hendrickson. He was flagged later on for a couple of holds, but I don’t think they were super egregious; we’ve seen much worse not called against Myles Garrett in the past. However, according to PFF, Jones received a dismal grade of 29.9.
• Adin Huntington was in as the team’s fullback for a few snaps, and Mason Graham also reportedly got in for one snap.