What is the story about?
This is a game where you don’t judge how things went by the stat sheet alone. QB Bryce Young nearly threw for 300 yards, and RB Chubba Hubbard had 82 yards rushing. But, at halftime, both players were bottled up, and it should have been a shutout if it hadn’t been for a bogus roughing the passer penalty.
Then, in the second half, the defense held Carolina to field goals multiple times, despite being in undesirable situations. After the offense re-took the lead, they closed out the game not once, but
twice.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 3 game against the Carolina Panthers.
Defensive Line
- What a day by the defensive line. I was encouraged by what I saw from DT Mason Graham last year, but the leap from year one to year two is legitimate. Through three games, he looks like the Browns’ best defender along with CB Denzel Ward, with the ability to take over games. He had two sacks this week and 7 combined tackles. He was PFF’s fourth-highest graded defender, but only because a lot of defenders graded well, with a 73.4.
- Derek Barnett (75.6), Jared Verse (72.3), Isaiah McGuire (69.2), Mike Hall (68.2), and Maliek Collins (62.6) all had their best grades by PFF of the season, as the pressures were coming from everywhere. I think we’re quickly seeing the defense be more aggressive as games go on, and they are finding ways to allow Verse to impact the game and free up other people, even if it doesn’t lead to sacks for him.
Linebacker
- Much like on offense I think something looks a tad off with Quinshon Judkins, the same looks true for Carson Schewesinger on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not that he’s a liability, it’s that he seems like ‘just another guy,’ which is a far cry from a year ago. However, several fans are questioning why PFF graded Schwesinger as low as they did.
- On the other hand, who lit a fire under Quincy Williams this week? He was all over the place, making sure tackles everywhere. He was the team’s highest-graded defender by PFF, grading out to a 77.5.
Cornerback
- Denzel Ward remained steady, playing a role in the Panthers’ top receivers not even getting passes thrown their way.
- Mekhi Blackmon filled in for Tyson Campbell. It’s not an easy task, but the Panthers went after him often. He was one of the team’s lowest-graded defenders by PFF, grading out to a 45.0.
Safety
- Ronnie Hickman responded with a better outing this week, notably having an open field tackle to deny a first down, and also securing the interception to seal the game (even if that was more of a gift turnover).
- Grant Delpit, on the other hand, actually received the lowest PFF grade with a 40.0. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren has been consistent with about a quarter of the snaps each week.
