Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns opened the 2025 NFL season with a slate of September games that were expected to be difficult.
True to form, the Browns have struggled through the first month of the season, and currently find themselves tied with the Baltimore Ravens at the bottom of the AFC North Division standings.
There has been more ugly than good, especially on the offensive side of the ball, through the opening four games, but there have also been some bright spots despite those three losses in four games.
With that in mind, let’s run through a “thumbs up, thumbs down” exercise now that the Browns are one quarter of the way through the season.
Cleveland’s defense has been unquestionably the strength of the team and is among the league’s best in several categories. And they have even forced a turnover in two consecutive games!
Outside of a few coverage breakdowns against the Baltimore Ravens, the defense has been the reason the Browns have a chance to be competitive. Even in the games where the scores got out of hand, that had more to do with the Ravens and Detroit Lions having short fields to work with.
The fear is that unless the offense gets its act together, the defense will wear down from having to carry so much of the weight of the team. But, for now, it has been fun to watch when Cleveland’s defense is on the field.
The idea of bringing Flacco back into the fold, especially with a pair of rookies filling out the quarterback room, was a nice idea at the start of the summer.
However, it is now clear that age has caught up with Flacco in a significant way.
Cleveland has only scored more points than the 0-4 Tennessee Titans, and their minus-46 point differential is only ahead of the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Titans. Of Cleveland’s 45 offensive drives, 62 percent have ended in either a punt or a turnover. And the Browns have yet to score more than 17 points in a game.
It is not that Flacco doesn’t know what he is doing; it is that he has reached the point in his career where he can’t do anything about it. Never a running QB to begin with, Flacco’s immobility limits what the Browns can do on offense, and he doesn’t appear to have the arm strength or reaction time to take advantage of opposing defenses.
It was always going to be when, not if, the Browns made a quarterback switch during the season. And if the time is not here, it is drawing near.
After missing all of training camp, the preseason, and the first game of the season, rookie running back Quinshon Judkins has quickly shown why the Browns selected him in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Judkins is the clear No. 1 running back and leads the...
