It was a first this year for the Browns defense.
But for a unit that is among the league’s best, it was a disappoint first.
The Browns failed to record a sack on Sunday, unable to take down Matthew Stafford in their 36-19 loss to the L.A. Rams.
“It was a combination of things,” Myles Garrett said. “The quarterback, the offensive line, getting the ball out quick and staying at a nice, level spot in the pocket. … But the way they were moving up front as well, credit to them. Sliding, doubling, keeping us off balance. That allowed them to have success throwing the ball and they weren’t often going for bombs. They were trying to get the ball out, get to the playmakers and allow them to do it themselves.”
Add to that list the fact that Garrett defied the odds this week. S
Seven days ago he was unable to lift his left shoulder and left Cleveland’s loss against the Denver Broncos wearing a sling. He didn’t return to practice until Friday, and his welcome gift against the Rams consisted of persistent and aggressive chip blocks and doubles, something that’s not new to the Pro Bowler. He said the shoulder didn’t really bother him in this one, but still, it’s a big obstacle he overcame to even be out there.
The defense was also hindered by the absence of Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward, dealing with a shoulder injury of his own, for the second straight week. And yeah, Ward might not be a pass rusher, but you’ll hear the phrase “rush and coverage” from this defense more than once if you hang around for only a few minutes.
“That’s just us finishing,” Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said. “It’s not like we’re not there, right? I think that we are putting good pressure on the quarterback. It’s just about finishing and being able to marry the pass and the run. Marry the D-linemen and the linebackers and the DBs. We have to marry it all together and once we do that we will be just fine.”
Even if the defense was fully healthy, this would have been a tough assignment for the Browns’ pass rushers this week.
It’s the second straight game that Cleveland’s No. 1 unit has been tested by a hot-handed, 35-year-old Super Bowl-winning, Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback. Russell Wilson and the Broncos escaped with a 29-12 win last week, with the Browns only able to sack Wilson once, thanks to a big game from Owusu-Koramoah, and four additional quarterback hits.
But Stafford, on top of having all that experience, has more familiarity with Schwartz than most of the opposing QBs the Browns have seen.
Then the head coach with the Lions, Schwartz was the guy who drafted Stafford No. 1 overall out of Georgia in 2009. Add that system familiarity to general experience in the NFL, and you’re bound to have a quarterback that can get the ball out faster, completing plays like his 70-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Puka Nacua in the first quarter.
“I feel like he did a really good job,” Juan Thornhill said. “It seemed like he knew what we were playing and every time we got in a certain defense, he was finding an open man. He was getting it out quick so the D-line couldn’t get back there fast to even really affect him too much. So I take my hat off to those guys. They had a really good game plan and I feel like they did it well.”
In addition to no sacks, the Browns managed just two quarterback hits, one apiece from Maurice Hurst and Grant Delpit. They had just one tackle for loss too from Kahlef Hailassie.
So what can the Browns do to prevent this from happening again?
Guys getting healthier is one part of the solution, but it might also just be that these were a couple of bad matchups at the wrong time for this team.
Defensive production isn’t just about sacks — pressures are one of the most-valued stats in analytics circles — and it’s not like the Browns front just suddenly wasn’t aggressive.
“I mean it’s frustrating, but our job is to rush, so we just keep rushing,” Ogbo Okoronkwo said. “We can’t complain about how fast the ball’s getting out. That’s out of our control. We just got to control what we can control.”
This is the first time the Browns have lost two games in a row this year as well, and to break this losing streak, it will be most important to quickly flush this loss and focus on their own game.
It’s the best recipe to get back to positive firsts and milestones.
