What is the story about?
The Cleveland Browns’ defense had some good moments against the Vikings, but ultimately, I would consider it one of their worst performances of the season. My opinion of Carson Wentz is not the highest, and Minnesota was also missing several offensive lineman. Despite that, they put together three legitimate touchdown drives in the game, including the game-winning drive. The frustrating part as a fan is the fact that you see the defense shut them down almost entirely or forced turnovers on 8 of the 11
drives. So you have that mixed bag of being dominant, versus giving up the big score.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Defensive Line
- Maliek Collins pass-rushing tear continues, as he logged two sacks.
- For the first time this season, Alex Wright out-snapped Isaiah McGuire, also it was pretty much right down the middle. They each forced a fumble on a running back that was recovered by the defense. Wright (91.1) and McGuire (83.4) were the top two graded players on defense, per PFF. Collins (76.0) was third.
- Myles Garrett was held in check for much of the game, with the lone highlight being a play in which he lined up extra wide and used his speed to get around and chase Carson Wentz down from behind. Garrett was the fifth-highest graded defender by PFF, grading out to a 70.5.
- Rookie Mason Graham wasn’t viewed as having a positive impact against a beat up offensive line, as PFF only graded him with a 47.8, the lowest among players with more than 10 snaps. He struggled against the run in their metrics.
Linebacker
- Carson Schwesinger led the Browns with 11 combined tackles, and he got a few nice shots on Wentz that led to him being evaluated at the half. All the tackles only led to an average grade of 63.0 from PFF, with his pass rushing grade being on the lower end.
- Early on in the game, I thought I was taken back to last year with the defense being overaggressive and the type of plays working against that being successful (end arounds, quick screens, pitches, and a running back throwing a touchdown).
Cornerback
- Who was to blame for the Vikings’ go-ahead touchdown pass? The announcers seemed to think that Denzel Ward was trying to bait Wentz into throwing it to Jordan Addison, but it also seemed like he was passing him off. However, I don’t know how you expect a safety to cover someone all the way to the sideline if that’s the case, so I’m assuming it was on Ward trying to improvise and make a play.
- A pass interference penalty on Greg Newsome extended a drive for Minnesota, which later led to a touchdown. An illegal contact penalty on Ward on third down also extended a drive, but the Vikings punted.
- For the second week in a row, Ward did not receive a kind grade from PFF, as he finished with a grade of 52.7. Ward’s tackling and run defense were ok, but it was his coverage grade that suffered. On the flip side, Newsome and Myles Harden both received negative marks for having missed tackles (two misses each).
Safety
- Grant Delpit had another good outing, finishing with a fumble recovery and a pass defended. He was the Browns’ fourth-highest graded defender by PFF, grading out to a 75.7.
- Ronnie Hickman received a very good tackling grade from PFF on the day, but his overall grade suffered due to coverage.
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