The Cleveland Browns’ defense made one mistake on the day, but it was a costly one. After busting up a trick run play into a 2nd-and-17 situation to begin the fourth quarter, Cleveland then tried to blitz
the house against Justin Fields. Fields got off a short screen pass that Breece Hall took 42 yards to the end zone. I get I can’t be a hypocrite, because I’m in favor of bringing more blitzes. With that said, I don’t know if we needed to bring that many on a day where Fields had 12 yards passing up to that point, and we could get to him quick even without extra players.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 10 game against the New York Jets.
Defensive Line
- Myles Garrett didn’t have as big of a day as we had hoped against the Jets, but we also have to remember that Fields only attempted 11 passes, so there weren’t a ton of opportunities to get a sack. On Pro Football Focus, Garrett drew a rare pedestrian grade of 64.7, with his tackling grade especially being dinged.
- Mason Graham, on the other hand, was the second-highest graded player by PFF, grading out to an 82.1. His counterpart, Maliek Collins, graded very poor in run defense and was the Browns’ worst-graded defender at a 38.9.
- Mike Hall only played 3 snaps in this game, when we thought he’d be ramped up a little more after the bye. I’m not sure if he had a setback or what.
- Alex Wright had to exit early with an injury, which gave more reps to Cameron Thomas. Thomas, of course, had the costly offsides penalty that officially sealed Cleveland’s fate in the final minute of the game.
Linebacker
- We heard Carson Schwesinger could miss 4-6 weeks when he hurt his ankle before the bye, but he ended up not missing a game and played every snap this week. He got well-timed pressure a couple of times, and had two tackles for losses. Despite that, he was one of the Browns’ worst-graded defenders by PFF, grading out to a 47.2.
- Devin Bush was right down there with him with a grade of 49.6. Their coverage, tackling, and run defense were not highly thought of, and Bush had the other costly penalty on a hold that prevented Cleveland from getting a shot at a two-minute drill to come back.
Cornerback
- The Jets’ wide receivers didn’t get many balls. Tyson Campbell was the Browns’ fourth-highest graded defender by PFF, grading out to a 79.1 and a very solid coverage grade of 90.7.
Safety
- The safeties were the best overall graded position for Cleveland, with Grant Delpit being the team’s top-graded defender with an 82.2 by PFF, and Ronnie Hickman grading out to a 76.6. Hickman had the interception that led to a quick score for the Browns’ offense.
