The Cleveland Browns’ defense hasn’t been as sharp over the last two weeks. One may say that they were on the field for too long, but the defense played 59 snaps while the offense had 82 snaps. The difference maker came early in the second half, when the special teams unit ran into the kicker, allowing for a fresh set of downs. Pittsburgh marched down the field and imposed their will, leading to a touchdown. I think we’re getting into one of the same issues soon that we’ve seen from Jim Schwartz’ unit: a combination of not being as motivated when they see the writing on the wall, and opposing teams are figuring out some ways to handle their pressure.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 6 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Defensive Line
- Despite it being a quiet day on the stat sheet and the eye test for Myles Garrett, he was the Browns’ highest-graded player on defense by PFF, grading out to an 89.8, far and above anyone else.
- Defensive tackle Maliek Collins continues to have a solid year. He graded out to a 74.2 by PFF.
- Alex Wright had a high amount of tackles for a defensive end, logging up a total of 7. He also played a season-high in reps (68%) since Isaiah McGuire was hurt during the game with a hip issue.
Linebacker
- This was the second game in a row that I thought it was a step back for rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger, where his instincts have not paid off. Even though he had 9 tackles, he was basically the Browns’ lowest-graded defender, grading out to a 46.1. His tackling was solid, but his coverage was not, as he allowed completions on all 5 attempts that went his way.
- Devin Bush was the second-highest graded defender by PFF, grading out to a 75.7.
Cornerback
- New Browns cornerback Tyson Campbell had a mixed bag. It seemed like he was guarding D.K. Metcalf one-on-one for much of the game. Early on, he gave up a completion down the sideline, but the coverage was very tight. After that, he stayed with Metcalf on a deep pass, with his back deflecting the ball away. But then later, he fell down on a deep route that should have been a touchdown to Metcalf, and he was also fooled on a slant-and-go for a touchdown. He received a grade of 59.2 by PFF.
- Denzel Ward was marginally better in coverage this week, grading out to a 64.5 by PFF. Between he, Myles Harden, and Campbell, they missed 4 tackles.
Safety
- Ronnie Hickman looked like he almost had an interception or knockaway in the end zone, but Aaron Rodgers got enough zip on his pass to thread it to his backup tight end across the field. Even though that play was stretched out, that was a big play not to...
Dawgs By Nature
