Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns picked up their first win of the season last week against the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers.
It was another impressive day for the defense, which sacked Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love five times and broke running back Josh Jacobs’ streak of 11 consecutive games with a touchdown.
Speaking of streaks, Cleveland’s defense continued to dominate in the run game, holding the Packers to just 81 rushing yards. The Browns are first in the NFL in run defense, allowing just 57.3 yards per game.
Next up is the Detroit Lions, who have scored 90 points in their last two games, and have a run game that is No. 2 in DVOA, fourth in yards per game (149), and seventh in yards per carry (5.0).
On Thursday, Cleveland’s coordinators held their weekly meeting with the press, and here are the key takeaways from what they had to say about the upcoming game against the Lions.
Detroit’s running game is fueled by David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, who have combined for 137.7 rushing yards per game and six rushing touchdowns.
Going up against a two-back offense is nothing the Browns have not seen this season, but what may set the Lions apart is the work of the wide receivers in the run game, according to Schwartz:
“Green Bay ran a lot of duo. Baltimore runs a lot of duo. You know, the base runs that Lions run are duo, which, you know, they’re not unique plays. They just have really good players. They have good blockers up front. The tight ends are good. The running backs are good.
“And one of the things that’s impressed me with the Lions is how tough their wide receivers are as blockers. You know, all their guys are known as sort of key wide receivers. And a lot of times, you know, those guys will sort of accentuate the route running and things like that. All these guys will go dig out safeties; they’ll block the backside. They’re really good blocking corners and all that other stuff. So, you know, we gotta do a good job getting off those blocks too. But that’s really impressed me with the Lions.”
The Lions have gone for it on fourth down eight times this season and converted seven of those attempts. Knowing that the Lions may go for it when teams may generally not can change the way Schwartz will call plays:
“It definitely plays into it. Just because, you know… make it third-and-10, you know, usually you give up eight yards and the punt team is coming on the field, right? These guys, it’s not the case. And it’s not just in the plus territory. I mean, the NFL is trending toward a lot of teams going for it on fourth down in plus territory. These guys will go for it in their own territory. They’ll go for it midfield, they’ll go for a little bit...
