What is the story about?
The
Cleveland Browns’ defense dominated the Raiders, logging 10 sacks and an absurd amount of pressures on Geno Smith. We have an article about those numbers in itself here. The Browns were dominant, but it wasn’t a shock to me, because I had just watched the egg that Las Vegas’ offense laid a few days earlier on Monday Night.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 12 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Defensive Line
- Myles Garrett feasted on the Raiders’ defense, making my sign proud. He registered 3 sacks, the last of which led to a fumble recovery for Cleveland (although the game was already sealed before that). Garrett was the Browns’ top-graded defender per PFF, grading out to a 93.7.
- Mason Graham had an impressive-looking performance (then again, who didn’t). After Garrett, Isaiah McGuire (84.9) was graded second by PFF, Mike Hall (75.6) was fifth, and Graham (75.2) sixth. Hall was more a part of the rotation this week, getting 42% of the snaps. Adin Huntington exited early with an injury.
Linebacker
- The streak continues where Carson Schwesinger looks great with his pursuit, but it doesn’t reflect in the PFF grades. He led Cleveland with 10 tackles, but only graded out to a 66.4. He was dinged for his tackling. From the eye test in person, he played the part well.
- Devin Bush, meanwhile, continues to be a PFF darling. He was the Browns’ fourth-highest graded defender, grading out to a 79.0.
- Jerome Baker only played a few snaps, fewer than previous weeks as the team gave more reps to safety Rayshawn Jenkins.
Cornerback
- Tyson Campbell was racking up the tackles with 9 of them, and also knocked two passes away. Campbell’s size really stood out to me, seeing him take on a back with relative ease.
- Denzel Ward was flagged for a pass interference penalty. Ward was the Browns’ third-highest graded defender, grading out to a 79.2.
- Myles Harden was the Browns’ worst-graded defender, per PFF, grading out to a 35.6. With Dom Jones gone due to injury, Sam Webb made his debut with 7 snaps.
Safety
- The Browns’ group of safeties was not treated kindly by PFF. Out of 19 defenders, PFF ranked the safeties 16th, 17th, and 18th, with a mix of tackling, coverage, and run defense issues. The only subcategory that wasn’t an issue was Grant Delpit’s run defense.
