The Cleveland Browns’ offense showed some efficiencies as they logged 322 yards of offense against the Vikings, and their identity was clear with a confident running game and quick passes. They also did not turn the ball over. Unfortunately, there was still a lot lacking that led to their downfall. They were only 3-of-15 (20%) on third down, and some of their drives only continued because they were 3-of-3 (100%) on fourth down conversions. And, at the end of the day, they still only scored 17 points and failed to close out the game multiple times in the fourth quarter.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Quarterback
- Dillon Gabriel lived up to what he did in the preseason, especially when you consider that he was leading his first career start against a solid defense, and with an offense that had a lot of deficiencies. One of the benefits he had to work with is that the running game is coming around.
- When I see Gabriel, I think to myself, “He could work with this offense, if our defense is at the top of their game, as an efficient game manager.” I can see him playing his part in guiding the team to victory. But I don’t yet see him as a guy who can make the big throws down the field, which presents a limiting factor for the offense.
- For now, though, he did everything he needed to do in that game. There was only one throw that I felt he “missed” on, which was a playaction rollout to his right, where he overthrew a short pass for Njoku. Those short rollout passes work far better for Gabriel than they did for Joe Flacco, as he’s able to be quicker with them and presents the threat of, “Well, if they glue to the receiver, then the quarterback can run for a few yards.”
- PFF gave Gabriel a grade of 63.0 on the day.
Running Back
- We’ve seen Quinshon Judkins delivering the goods for a few weeks now, and this was his best outing yet. Also wiped off the board was about a 60+ yard touchdown run in which there were two holding penalties; despite the penalties, though, he still showed off his ability and breakaway speed.
- Judkins was the Browns’ second-highest graded player on offense by PFF, receiving a grade of 77.3. His pass blocking in limited snaps was low, with Jerome Ford performing better in those situations.
- There was some criticism about Judkins not getting touches in the second quarter. It’s one of those things where I understand the fan sentiment, but at the end of the day, Judkins still got 23 carries. If you’re going to lean on the running game that much, it does make sense to trust the other guys on your roster, like Jerome Ford.
Wide Receiver
Dawgs By Nature
