The Browns got a 75-yard touchdown pass against the Titans on a concept Kevin Stefanski has been using all season in different disguises.
“In order to do it well, it takes 11 guys and there is nuance to it. The team we are playing this week does a very good job of making the run look like the pass and vice versa. There are always different things that that we give to the players as coaching points on all those play actions. Whether it is a keeper, a run action or whatever it may be, there is nuance to it. We just spend a lot of time drilling it into them both within the meetings and then on the practice field.”
That’s what Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said this week leading into his team’s matchup with the Titans. The contest between two 8-3 teams was expected to be close, but Baker Mayfield threw four first-half touchdowns in a 38-7 halftime rout, matching a franchise record that goes back to 1951, including a delightful touchdown pass to offensive lineman Kendall Lamm in which Tennessee’s offense was focused on running back Nick Chubb, and Lamm was wide open.
Big Man Touchdown! Baker Mayfield throws TD pass to OT Kendall Lamm
But the touchdown we want to focus on here for the purposes of this article is Mayfield’s 75-yard touchdown pass to receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones with 3:04 left in the second quarter. Here, the Browns come out in “13” personnel (one running back, three tight ends, one wide receiver), which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Per Sharp Football Stats, the Browns led the league in usage of “13” through Week 12, using it on 14% of their offensive snaps. This looks for all the world like a run play, with tight end Harrison Bryant moving into the backfield, and everyone else involved in a max protect look at the line of scrimmage.
Problem is, the plan is for Mayfield to throw deep to Peoples-Jones against a Tennessee defense that was totally duped by the pre- and post-snap concepts.
This left cornerback Breon Borders as the only line of defense against Peoples-Jones, which did not go well for Mr. Borders. Not only did the run look take every other defender out of the coverage picture, but Peoples-Jones added a nasty double move in the route for good measure.
Bowen, of ESPN and NFL Matchup fame, is absolutely correct here. In fact, there are multiple examples of the Browns using these connected ideas for big gains.
In Week 11 against the Eagles, Mayfield hit receiver KhaDarel Hodge on a 42-yard touchdown based on a similar strategy — this was out of “22” personnel (two running backs, two tight ends, and one wide receiver). Still, it’s second verse, same as the first as regards the overall idea — TE motion, run action, make the defense bite, focus on the one-on-one matchup created, and throw in a killer stutter-go at the bottom of the picture just to top things off.
Our own Mark Schofield pointed this play out after it happened.
And in Week 2 against the Bengals, Mayfield once again had the benefit of this evil combination: Tight end pre-snap movement, run-action, Stefanski’s ability to slow defenses down with layered concepts, and a badass double move from the open receiver on the deep ball. The result? A 43-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. This time, the Browns ran this out of “11” personnel — one running back, one tight end, three receivers, but the concepts — and the effects on the defense — are strikingly similar.
The NFL’s best offensive play-designers are the ones who can not only create defensive hesitation and distress with creative concepts, but can also take winning concepts and package them in different personnel looks. At this point, we need to add Kevin Stefanski’s name to the list of the league’s better playbook guys on the offensive side of the ball.
