Browns threatening to commit the most presnap penalties in 2021

The Browns have committed the 2nd-most presnap penalties through the first 16 games of the 2021 NFL season

It’s not been a good 2021 season for the Cleveland Browns. Among the many fingers to point at the team’s underachieving 7-9 record entering the Week 18 finale against the AFC North champion Bengals, one deserves to point at the team’s presnap penalty problem.

Going into the final game, the Browns have committed more presnap penalties than all but one other team. Only the two-win Detroit Lions (46) have been guilty of more mental lapses before the snap than the Browns (45). Cleveland has spread out the preventable penalties across the offense (29), defense (13) and special teams (3).

The two biggest culprits are two of the Browns’ best players: defensive ends Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. Each has earned five presnap penalties, though three of Garrett’s offside fouls were declined. Left tackle Jedrick Wills and guard Joel Bitonio lead the offense with three false starts apiece, per data from NFL Penalties.

The Browns could seize the dubious title from Detroit. No team has drawn more false start penalties (30) than Cleveland’s Week 18 opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, though QB Joe Burrow will not play.

Browns vs. Dolphins: Week 12 game news and notes

The Cleveland Browns went into their matchup with the Miami Dolphins expecting to win and they won. There is something to be said for a team being able to take care of business when they are supposed to win, the Denver Broncos notwithstanding. The Browns were able to dominate early. In the first half of the game, the Browns were able to gain long chunk plays and score easily.

Offense

QB, Baker Mayfield, 24-34-327-3-1

RB, Nick Chubb, rushing 21-106-1, receiving 3-58-0 (4 targets)

RB, Kareem Hunt, rushing 8-37-1, receiving 2-9-0 (3 targets)

WR, Jarvis Landry, 10-148-2 (13 targets)

WR, Odell Beckham, 6-84-1 (8 targets)

TE, Demetrius Harris, 2-20-0 (2 targets)

It was nice to see Kareem Hunt score a touchdown and for the Browns to give plenty of opportunities to both running backs. The story of the game should be the continued progression of Baker Mayfield. Since the bye week, Mayfield has looked sharper with his decisions and his ability to get the ball out on time. His lone interception of the day came on a target to Odell Beckham.

Beckham was running a slant over the middle and Mayfield threw the ball behind Beckham. Beckham’s forward momentum was carrying him away from the ball and created an almost impossible catch. Mayfield almost had a second interception on the afternoon on a target to Demetrius Harris. Mayfield put a little too much juice on the pass and it went through the hands of Harris hitting him in the helmet. Fortunately, there was a Miami penalty on the play and the interception was erased.

There will undoubtedly be talk about how good Jarvis Landry is looking and how he is the best wide receiver on the team. While I agree he has the best production, the more appropriate line of thinking is that both Beckham and Landry are playing well off each other. Both wide receivers are exceptional at what they do, and Beckham is drawing attention from Landry the same way Landry draws attention from Beckham.

Defensive Notes

There are two main storylines to pay attention to on the defense. One is how well Joe Schobert has been playing recently. In Week 12, Schobert was able to add another 10 tackles and 2 interceptions to his amazing run in 2019. The second storyline to watch is the progression of Greedy Williams. Again, in Week 12, opposing offenses were singling him out in coverage. DeVante Parker, as a bigger-bodied receiver, was able to be more physical than Williams and push him around at the line of scrimmage.

Remembering to Week 11 against the Steelers, Mason Rudolph and Co. were also targeting Williams frequently and caused crucial pass interference penalties. Fortunately for the Browns, there were a couple flags not thrown on obvious pass interference.

Penalties (9 penalties, 7 accepted penalties)

Wyatt Teller – 5-yards (ineligible downfield pass)

Wyatt Teller – 10-yards (holding)

Jarvis Landry – Penalty Declined (illegal shirt)

J.C. Tretter – 10-yards (holding)

Mack Wilson – 15-yards (unnecessary roughness)

Greg Robinson – Penalty Declined (ineligible downfield pass)

Greedy Williams – 15-yards (defensive pass interference)

Bryan Cox – 10-yards (illegal block above the waste)

Greedy Williams – 5-yards (illegal use of hands)

Final Thoughts

Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins came at a perfect time for the Browns. They had an opportunity to play a team with significantly less talent, learn to create pressure without Myles Garrett, and develop chemistry on the offensive side of the ball. The pass rush still leaves a lot of questions on the table, but I don’t believe the Browns were putting their defensive game plan for creating pressure on film against the Dolphins.

Overall, there are plenty of positives to take away from Week 12 against the Dolphins. It will be important for the Browns to keep their composure and remember the lessons of this game as they move on to the Steelers.

Final Score: 24-41 (Cleveland Browns Victory)

Time of Possession: 36:06 (+12:12)

Record: 5-6 (third in the AFC North)

Current Draft Position: 15 (information via Tankathon)

Next Opponent: at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)

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Browns remain the runaway NFL leader in negative penalty yard differential

The Browns have lost over 100 more net yards to penalties than any other team

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Penalties remain a major problem for the Cleveland Browns. The team was on a bit of a positive surge with more disciplined play coming out of the bye week until everything hit the fan at the end of the Week 11 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The fracas at FirstEnergy Stadium last Thursday spiked away the progress and vaulted the Browns well back into the lead for most penalty yards. Cleveland has been flagged for a total of 822 yards, the most in the league. Oakland is next at 779.

Where the penalties really hit home is in penalty yardage differential. Cleveland has lost a net of 334 yards on assessed penalties in 2019. That’s more than 100 yards worse than the Raiders, who are also second-worst in that figure. Arizona and Oakland have been guilty of more total penalties, but the Browns’ yardage is much worse thanks to personal fouls and pass interference calls.

If you’re looking for a silver lining, the team has committed just one pre-snap penalty on offense in the last three weeks.

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Browns starting to do the little things well more consistently

The Browns are protecting the ball, committing fewer penalties and focusing on the little things much better since the bye week

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Perhaps the most impressive figure from the Browns’ 19-16 win over the Buffalo Bills was the zero in the turnover department. Baker Mayfield and the Browns offense protected the ball and did not give it away for the second week in a row.

Sure, there were a couple of shaky moments. Mayfield once again mistimed a shovel pass that was initially ruled a fumble and Bills TD before being correctly overturned. Dontrell Hilliard muffed a punt he badly misjudged, but the Browns fell on the loose grenade before it exploded and the Bills could recover.

For weeks, Freddie Kitchens has been preaching accountability and focus on the little details. Taking care of the ball was a big point of emphasis. Putting action where his words rang out, Kitchens replaced Hilliard as the return man for the rest of the game. Tavierre Thomas took over for Hilliard and while Thomas wasn’t very impressive as a returner, he protected the ball and didn’t make mistakes.

The same is true on the penalty front. The Browns committed one bad penalty, the taunting foul that Jarvis Landry deserved after scoring the first touchdown. They were guilty of just four accepted penalties on the day:

Landry’s unsportsmanlike conduct
Denel Ward pass interference on Buffalo’s first offensive play
Chris Hubbard false start
Larry Ogunjobi roughing the passer

Ogunjobi’s foul was letter-of-the-law; more egregious infractions go uncalled in every game, but he was technically guilty.

Hubbard’s foul, which wound up forcing the Browns to kick an important field goal instead of going for it, was the only pre-snap penalty in the game. No offsides (a T.J. Carrie encroachment was negated by a Bills penalty), no illegal motions, no illegal shifts.

This was the second game in a row the opponent committed more penalties than the Browns. Buffalo was guilty of seven accepted penalties, roughly one-third of the number of times they were guilty of illegal blocks on Myles Garrett.

The little things, like wideout KhaDarel Hodge finishing his block to the whistle on a nice Nick Chubb run instead of the token effort too often seen from others (read: Antonio Callaway), make a huge difference. Kitchens’ Browns still commit some mistakes, but the attention to detail is striking in the three games since the bye week. It didn’t result in a victory until Sunday, but the Browns are definitely playing better, smarter football.

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