Category: Game Breakdown

4 Downs: What to take away from Browns loss vs. Patriots

Is there anything to takeaway from the Browns’ loss to the Patriots?

The good in this matchup between the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots is minimal. The Browns laid an egg and got outclassed by Bill Belichick and his team. With back-to-back weeks against division rivals, the season hangs in the balance with how this team responds after dropping to 2-4 on the year.

For now, we move forward with another edition of 4 Downs as we look to identify what stood out the most from this beatdown at FirstEnergy Stadium. What can we take away from this loss to the Patriots? Is there any hope left in this season that is beginning to look like was punted on from the start?

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Shut off the TV: Browns lay an egg against the Patriots

There is no point in waiting until the end of the game, the Browns have laid an egg against the Patriots.

You will not see a final score in this article. You will not see the final stats from the box score between the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots. Instead, you are going to get an article that was written with 14 minutes left in the game as the Browns tack on some feel-good points on Cade York’s third field goal of the game from 51 yards out.

The Browns have laid an egg and are not even worthy of keeping on the television for the remaining 16 minutes of the game. To make matters worse, starting guard Wyatt Teller left the game with a calf injury in the first half and has not returned.

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett has returned to the level of the journeyman quarterback that he is with three interceptions today. The Browns are averaging three yards per carry on the ground, and the defense has shown nothing but quit.

There will be plenty of jobs up for grabs, and perhaps this season as a great deal of the established veterans have played particularly poorly. Safeties Grant Delpit and John Johnson III have been a massive letdown, and defensive coordinator Joe Woods better start cleaning out his locker as the bye week is just two weeks away.

The Browns have bright spots on this roster. Tight David Njoku continues his breakout campaign, Myles Garrett has broken the franchise sack record, and Nick Chubb continues to be the best running back in the league.

However, this is a team that has had too many opportunities to win football games. They have not been able to close. And now today, the Browns did nothing but lay a massive egg in a game they needed to win to get back to .500.

We are on to the Baltimore Ravens, but as the Browns are now looking towards a 2-4 record, this team has dug themselves a hole they will not be able to play themselves out of in 2022.

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Browns Film Room: It is time to talk extension with Ethan Pocic

The film does not lie. It is time for the Browns to begin extension talks with Ethan Pocic.

When the Cleveland Browns let J.C. Tretter walk this offseason, saving a little over $8 million in cap space, there were quite a few skeptics. Then when his heir in Nick Harris went down with a season-ending injury, there were cries for the Browns to bring Tretter back.

However, the Browns made a move to sign veteran center Ethan Pocic after cutting Tretter just in case their plan with Harris did not work out. And despite the cries to get a more proven veteran onto the roster after Harris went down, the Browns stood by their plan to let Pocic ride it out.

And thus far he has rewarded the Browns with his play on the field.

Through five games, and while he gets the luxury of playing between two Pro Bowl-caliber guards, Pocic has been nothing but steady and productive as the Browns continue to bury opposing teams on the ground.

What better reason to put a microscope on Pocic and break down some offensive line film?

4 Downs: What is salvageable from Browns loss to Chargers?

The Browns lost another heartbreaker to the Chargers, but is there anything to take away from this game?

Two weeks in a row the Cleveland Browns have been unable to slam the door shut when they get out to a lead. The margin for error on offense is low, the opportunity for error on the defensive side of the football is sky high. All-in-all, the Browns are 2-3 after the loss to the Los Angeles Chargers despite boasting the third best offense in the NFL.

This all leads to yet another lacklust 4 Downs as these are much less fun after losses. As the Browns look to pick up the pieces after a lackluster start, is there anything salvageable from this loss to the Chargers?

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Know thy Enemy: How do the Browns stack up vs. Chargers?

As the Browns look to rebound, how do they stack up against the Los Angeles Chargers?

For the second straight season, the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Chargers are set to square off. This time, however, the Chargers are going to be the team traveling across the country to meet the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Both teams come into the game with a record of 2-2, as the Chargers are coming in off of a win over the Houston Texans. The Browns will be looking to stay in the mix over the next seven games after falling to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.

Here we will take a look at how the Chargers look in all phases of the game, and how the Browns match up with them. Spoilers: I tend to think this game is going to be much tighter than many imagine.

Upon Further Review: 5 points that stood out after rewatching Browns vs. Falcons

After turning on the all-22 of the Browns vs. Falcons, what stood out most?

Still reeling from the loss to the Atlanta Falcons, I had to take another look at the tape for the Cleveland Browns. The all-22 is out and available for consumption, so why not take a deeper look at what went wrong?

It was just as ugly as the first time around, but putting the game under a microscope helps to pull away some more details that were missed when watching the game from a broadcast view.

After diving in, what were five points that stood out the most after getting eyes on this trash heap of a game for a second time?

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4 Big takeaways from snap counts in Browns vs. Falcons

What can we pull away from the snap count totals from Browns vs. Falcons?

This might be the wackiest-looking snap count the Cleveland Browns have ever had to navigate. As the Browns lost to the Atlanta Falcons, they had to get creative with their defensive personnel. With an injury-riddled defensive line, we were bound to see some high numbers from players who played more snaps than they ever should have. Which was certainly the case in this one.

The OBR’s Anthony Reinhard does a fantastic job week in and week out of breaking down snaps by drive and total snap counts for the Browns. There are some interesting observations that arise when looking over this data.

First, let’s take a look at the snap count totals.

4 Downs: Browns lose, Jacoby Brissett regresses, defensive injuries hurt

The Browns are reeling after a loss to the Falcons. What can we take away as they look ahead to the Chargers?

The Cleveland Browns need to bounce-back after their loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The good news: head coach Kevin Stefanski is 13-3 after a loss. The Los Angeles Chargers are next on the schedule, and the Browns will need to shock just about everyone.

Now sitting at 2-2 on the season, the Browns realistically need to win five total over their first 11 to give them a shot at making the playoffs over the back six games. The good news is the rest of the AFC is beating up on each other, so a nine win team could potentially sneak in as well.

Before we turn the page to the Chargers, what are four takeaways from this bad loss to the Falcons?

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3 Stars: Who stood out in Browns loss to Falcons?

Despite the loss, who stood out for the Browns against the Falcons?

This one hurt. The Cleveland Browns drop a winnable game against the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 23-20. It was not head coach Kevin Stefanski’s best in terms of playcalling, and it is hard to stop the run when you are missing three starting defensive linemen and your starting MIKE linebacker.

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett returned to the form of the backup quarterback he is, the Falcons ran for 202 yards with most of them coming in the second half, and the Browns wasted a couple of redzone opportunities. It was not a great showing across the board, but it happens in the NFL.

Regardless, who stood out for the Browns most in this one?

Browns can’t overcome mounting injuries, lose to Falcons 23-20

The Cleveland Browns cannot overcome mouting injuries along the defensive interior as they lose to the Atlanta Falcons

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The Cleveland Browns came into the game with no defensive line help with Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney, and Taven Bryan all out against the Atlanta Falcons. And it showed as they were gashed against the run, and at one point surrendered 14 straight positive runs in the second half.

On the day, the Falcons were able to chalk up 202 rushing on the day, as the Browns were able to bottle up quarterback Marcus Mariota to just 139 yards and an interception through the air. In the end, quarterback Jacoby Brissett showed some natural regression for a bridge, journeyman quarterback as the Browns’ offense struggled a bit more than expected in this one as well.

They ran the ball plenty, racking up over 30 designed runs for a total of 177 yards on the ground. Nick Chubb himself was responsible for 118 of those yards and a touchdown, but the passing game just could not find its stride as Brissett went a measly 21-of-35 for 234 yards and a last minute interception.

David Njoku led the way for the Browns in the receiving department, racking up 73 yards on five catches. Wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones added another 71 on five catches. Amari Cooper managed just one catch on the day for nine yards.

The Browns fall to 2-2 on the season on what felt like a very winnable game. The schedule gets much tougher moving forward for the Browns as they now look ahead to the Los Angeles Chargers and their high-flying offense.