Dawgs By Nature
Jameis Winston and Co. showed glimpses of offensive normality against the Ravens on Sunday
The Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday by a score of 29 to 24 in an exciting display of renewed offensive competency.
It was a great weekend for Browns fans as their team showed the ability to consistently move the ball on offense, specifically in the passing game. It’s been a while since they’ve been able to regularly convert on 3rd downs and Cleveland converted a season-high 53.3% of them on Sunday. It was incredibly noticeable as the team was not only able to sustain drives in general, but it naturally made things easier for Nick Chubb and the run game as well.
Due to having a competent passing game, one that was profitably taking shots downfield all day, the Ravens weren’t able to consistently stack the box on Sunday. Baltimore was forced to drop 6 to 7 defenders into coverage which allowed Chubb and D’Onta Foreman to average 4.3 yards per carry on the ground.
Jameis Winston did a great job of playing within the structure of the offense for the majority of the game and was patient with his receivers and the timing of their routes.
He trusted his protection and stood tall in the pocket which made it easier for his offensive line. Deshaun Watson had a bad habit of leaving the pocket too early, forcing the offensive linemen to try and “guess” where he was.
This looked like the Browns' offense of old, with a good number of under-center snaps and rolling pockets. In an article published last week, we predicted that week 8 could finally be the week that Cleveland’s offense would get back to what made it so efficient in the past in regards to schematic adjustments with a quarterback like Jameis Winston.
Most if not all of those predictions rang true in this one, and we’ve never felt better about being so accurate.
Believe it or not, with how bad the conference and division has been in 2024, the Browns still have a chance to make something of this season if they continue having offensive success. If the playoffs started today, Cleveland would only be two games back from being an AFC playoff/wildcard seed.
Were you impressed with Cleveland’s offensive performance on Sunday? Join fellow Browns fans in the comment section below.
