What is the story about?
The
Browns’ offense was dormant for much of the game as Shedeur Sanders started in place of Deshaun Watson. Before you knew it, though, in the fourth quarter and overtime, the two teams were engaged in a shootout as Sanders started letting the ball loose downfield. Unfortunately, Cleveland just fell short in the extra period.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 9 game against the New Orleans Saints.
Quarterback
- It was a frustrating first three quarters watching Shedeur Sanders. I was excited to see him get an opportunity this week, and my excitement turned to dismay when I saw the number of procedural-looking errors, bailing from the pocket, etc. I saw no growth from what we saw a year ago.
- I was also frustrated because Sanders at his best is when he’s taking some deep shots. A short, read-and-dissect offense, is not what he excels at. Granted, he needs to be much better at that if he wants to be an NFL quarterback, but for this being a spot start, we needed to let him take some shots. Otherwise, you might as well have started Dillon Gabriel.
- When the Browns needed to score and he knew it was either “take a shot or take a loss,” Sanders was much better getting the offense moving. He saved his backup job because if the fourth quarter had come-and-gone with no scores, I think he would’ve been moved to third-string next week. Either way, he was not a PFF darling, grading out to a 55.0, third-lowest on offense.
- In the PFF breakdown, Sanders played better when blitzed or under pressure, and far worse when not under pressure or blitzed.
Running Back
- Dylan Sampson out-paced Quinshon Judkins in reps by a good margin. Much of that can be attributed to the hurry-up/two-minute offense at the end of the fourth quarter and in overtime.
- Facing one of the league’s worst run defenses, Cleveland couldn’t get their ground game going.
Wide Receiver
- Hats off to the Browns’ wide receivers this week, especially down the stretch. Denzel Boston made an incredible high-point catch over a defender after putting a nasty move on him to get open. Boston was the Browns’ top-graded player on offense by PFF, with a grade of 73.6.
- KC Concepcion got his first NFL touchdown, and he used his speed to go a long distance across the field after making the catch to get in. He also ran for 3 yards when there wasn’t much room on that play.
- Jerry Jeudy stepped up on the final drive of regulation with an incredible sideline 33-yard catch. Those targets aren’t coming often, but Jeudy has done a great job staying motivated with his role and giving this team clutch moments.
Tight End
- He didn’t have a catch until overtime, but my-oh-my, it was a thing of beauty watching Harold Fannin stiff-arm two defenders for a touchdown. The announcers pointed out that for much of the game, Fannin was helping chip Chase Young. Fannin was credited as having one of his better blocking days, per PFF.
Offensive Line
- Spencer Fano was the Browns’ top-graded lineman, per PFF, with a grade of 68.9. The team’s other rookie, Austin Barber, didn’t fare as well. He was the team’s lowest-graded lineman by PFF, with a grade of 51.8 and a terrible pass blocking grade.
- Penalties continue to kill Cleveland. If you play the butterfly effect, if Zion Johnson doesn’t commit the hold in regulation, maybe Cleveland is able to close out the game on offense.
