Anatomy of a Play: How Matthew Stafford’s vision led to Puka Nacua’s 70-yard touchdown

Matthew Stafford’s 70-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua against the Browns was a result of Stafford’s football genius, and Sean McVay’s belief.

The Los Angeles Rams, who went into their Week 10 bye with a 3-6 record, have won their last three games since then, and quite out of nowhere, are currently second in the NFC West, and are currently eighth in the NFC playoff race. It’s a new iteration of the offense orchestrated by head coach Sean McVay and personified by quarterback Matthew Stafford, and last Sunday, these Rams blew out the Cleveland Browns’ outstanding defense with 399 total yards in a 36-19 win. Stafford completed 22 of 37 passes for 379 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 110.1.

The most explosive play for the Rams in that game was Stafford’s 70-yard touchdown pass to receiver Puka Nacua with 4:08 left in the first quarter. As impressive as the play was (we’ll get to that in a moment), the interesting was how it came about because McVay and Stafford collaborated on a certain look they expected to see from Cleveland’s defense.

“That’s a check that he ended up making up where I’m saying, ‘Shoot, what the heck am I supposed to do? You know, you’re playing quarterback and you’re doing our job,'” McVay said of his quarterback. “But it just goes to show you what a special player he is to be able to say, ‘Hey if we get a certain look and I recognize it, how would this be to try to attack the back end of the coverage contour and what protection?’ And I’m sitting there saying, ‘That’s a pretty good idea. I should have thought of that earlier in the week.’ And he made it come to life. And then Puka being able to finish for a 70-yard touchdown was big early in the game. But Matthew’s a baller. He had another great game, and he’s going to continue to play really well for us.”

When Stafford was queried about the play, there was only so much he was willing to disclose.

“Can’t give away my secrets,” he said. “No, but that was something actually that we had talked about, Sean and I had talked about. I kind of wanted to try to get to something like that if I could feel that one coming and was able to bounce out back into the shotgun. Obviously, Puka did a great job of kind of late hands[ing] that thing, not letting the linebacker know the ball was coming and then finishing it off with the touchdown was huge, big momentum play. A team like that that’s holding teams to 100 and whatever it is, 15, 20 yards passing, anytime you can get 70 in one play is a huge one. It was great to get that one done.”

Here’s the play, and let’s get into how it may have popped open.

The Rams were in a 3×1 set with tight end Tyler Higbee to the right formation, Nacua in the slot, and Cooper Kupp wide. Nacua flew into his seam route off the snap, and caught the ball 21 yards downfield while linebacker Sione Takitaki tried to keep pace. Takitaki didn’t do a horrible job here, but Stafford made one his patented ridiculous Matthew Stafford throws, and that was that.

Now, I don’t know exactly what the check was here — what the look Stafford saw was — and I probably wouldn’t unless I talked to either McVay or Stafford with a bottle of truth serum handy. But there’s one thing to know about Jim Schwartz’s Browns defense — Schwartz likes to send defensive backs in blitzes from either side, and he did so on this play. Safety Juan Thornhill blitzed from the play side, and safety Grant Delpit did so from the other side. The Browns had inverted Cover-2 on the back end, with cornerbacks acting as the deep defenders.

Stafford saw something similar with 9:20 left in the first quarter. The 3×1 motion was to the other side after receiver Tutu Atwell motioned to it, but you’ll notice that Delpit and cornerback Martin Emerson were blitzing from each side. Notice also that with this defensive look, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was responsible for extending out as the flat defender to the offensive right side. Stafford still got the ball to Nacua on that side.

My guess is that when Stafford saw a defensive back in a blitz look again, he took note and recognized that the underneath defender to that side — whoever was playing linebacker depth — would have to take the flat right away. On the 70-yard pass, the responsibilities changed because it was a 3×1 to the right side. Now, Emerson was responsible for the flat, and Takitaki had to take Nacua wherever he went. Which was exactly what happened, with cornerback Kahlef Hailassie giving help up top. And that gave Nacua the room for his release.

It’s always nice when your quarterback has a rocket arm; it’s even better when he’s also a rocket scientist. Stafford’s vision of what Cleveland’s defense would do, and McVay’s trust in Stafford’s football intelligence, set up the most explosive play of the day for the resurging Rams.

6 Browns who are having Pro Bowl seasons at the midway point

The Cleveland Browns could send more players to the Pro Bowl this season than this past season.

The Cleveland Browns sent just four players to the Pro Bowl this past season and have a chance to send a few more after this season ends.

While areas of the team have yet to fully break out, there are a few positions where the Browns clearly have some of the best talent in the NFL – particularly on defense. There are still a lot of games left in the season, but so far these players are the Browns’ best opportunities to have representation in the Pro Bowl.

Here are the top five predictions, plus one honorable mention.

Second-Year Review: Analyzing the Cleveland Browns’ 2022 NFL draft class

Martin Emerson Jr. headlined the 2022 NFL draft for the Browns. But how is the class as a whole doing just over a year in?

The bye week offers teams a chance for introspection, free from the looming presence of impending opponents. Self-scouting is pivotal to teams as they assess their weaknesses and tendencies, especially during the bye week. The Cleveland Browns desperately needed to do it, especially with injuries to their offensive stars Nick Chubb and Deshaun Watson. It’s also a good time for fans and media members to look at the bigger picture. I thought I’d spend this time looking at the Browns’ 2022 NFL draft class, headlined by cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. 

The Browns are becoming a real football team. In years past, we as fans, would be assessing a rookie class where half of the players would be forced into starting roles. The Browns are still performing a baptism by fire with 4th-round rookie Dawand Jones, who is playing fantastic. However, most rookies are sitting on the bench and learning how to be professionals. Successful teams always boast of developing four-year plans for their drafted players.

The Browns are finally establishing themselves as a real organization with a slow and deliberate onboarding of their young players. Only three players in the Browns’ 2022 draft class are playing significant snaps currently.

Let’s take a look at how that draft class is doing one year in at the bye week.

Studs and Duds: Stars shine brightly in Browns win over Titans

The Cleveland Browns stars shined bright in this installment of studs and duds.

The Cleveland Browns showed their resilience as the defense, led by defensive end Myles Garrett, dominated the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Last week, the Browns’ season seemed lost after the Nick Chubb injury, but today the team is riding high off a 27-3 win. The offense had a hard time getting started but found its footing in the second quarter.

Deshaun Watson looked accurate and in rhythm for the first time in a Browns uniform. He had the offense humming both through the air and on the ground. In some respects, he finally looked like the player the Browns sacrificed so much for. The Browns will need to keep Watson confident to build upon the recent success. Watson still has streaks of reckless plays when trying to play hero ball.

His attempt to avoid a sack by throwing a backward pass to Elijah Moore was one of the dumbest things I’ve seen a Browns quarterback do during a game. The Browns cannot have their quarterback lose composure like that again.

On defense, the Browns continued to lock down opposing offenses. The Titans scored 3 points but had the most sustained success of any of the Browns’ opponents. The Titans were able to get into the red zone multiple times on Sunday. The Browns had not given up a red zone possession before the game. So while the Titans left the field with only three points, that’s more points than the Bengals or Steelers got from the red zone. The Browns’ defense has been outstanding to start the season.

Every week they make up the majority of the stud list, and this week is no different. The stars on this team are playing like stars.

PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns defenders against the Commanders

Who stood out the most according to PFF on defense for the Browns?

The second preseason game is in the books as the Cleveland Browns fell to the Washington Commanders 17-15 on Friday night in Cleveland. The starters that did play showed why fans are excited for the upcoming season. Overall the defense showed up both from a starter standpoint and some of the young depth pieces that saw playing time.

The biggest standout from the defensive side was undrafted free-agent safety Ronnie Hickman Jr. He received the highest grade on the defensive side from PFF. All in all the top 11 graded players on the defensive side received a grade of 70 overall or higher, here are the top 10 graded defenders for the Browns.

Martin Emerson Jr. tagged as breakout candidate by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell

Barnwell believes the second year player could take another step forward

There were plenty that were surprised last year when Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns selected cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. as their top pick in 2022. But that surprise didn’t last long as Emerson Jr. was thrust into the starting lineup early due in part to injuries and he never looked overwhelmed.

Now ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes Emerson Jr. can take another step forward in 2023.

“Most notably [Emerson] limited Mike Evans to 31 yards on nine targets in a November victory over the Buccaneers. He finished the season with a 77.6 passer rating allowed in coverage.”

Emerson Jr. is such a physical player that he thrives against bigger-bodied wide receivers like Mike Evans. He has had a good showing in training camp so far as well and with the addition of Jim Schwartz, Emerson Jr. is poised to break out in 2023.

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Cornerback Martin Emerson named Browns breakout candidate by PFF

Will Emerson be able to build off a strong rookie campaign?

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There was some surprise when the Cleveland Browns used their first pick in last year’s draft on another cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. The move turned out to be a wise one as Emerson impressed during his rookie season with his strength and physicality in man coverage.

PFF released their breakout candidates for the AFC and Martin Emerson earned the nod for Cleveland.

“Another rookie cornerback, Emerson played a significant role for the Browns all season, as he finished the year with the seventh-most snaps among first-year cornerbacks. And he also quietly put together an impressive season. He earned a 72.5 PFF grade, which ranked 23rd among cornerbacks, and he forced an incompletion on 20% of the passes into his coverage, the ninth-best rate at the position.”

The AFC is loaded with great quarterbacks and passing attacks and the Browns will need Emerson and the rest of the defensive backs to be up to the challenge in 2023. The team has shown us with their moves that they believe they are Super Bowl contenders this year and Emerson will need to play great to help make that happen.

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How did the Browns’ rookies grade in Year 1?

A look back at the 2022 Browns rookie class.

After trading back and trading multiple picks to Houston for Deshaun Watson the Cleveland Browns ended up picking nine players in the 2022 NFL Draft. Fans were surprised when the team traded out of the second round completely and shocked when they decided to take corner Martin Emerson with their first pick.

Around the NFL writer Nick Shook released his grades for all of the AFC North’s rookie classes. Overall Shook graded the 2022 class for the Browns as a C plus. Let’s look over Shook’s grade and his comments as well as some thoughts of my own about the rookie class. This class takes a step forward in 2023 and will be important if the team wants to make the playoffs.

 

PFF lists rookie CB Martin Emerson Jr. as Browns’ biggest surprise of 2022

The rookie corner far exceeded most expectations.

Martin Emerson was great for the Cleveland Browns after being a third-round pick in the 2022 draft. His size and strength allowed him to play with the bigger and more physical wide receivers in the league without issues. Though some things need to be cleaned up tackling the rookie showed that he was more than up to the challenge of playing in the NFL.

PFF released an article about each team’s biggest surprise and Martin Emerson was the pick for the Browns.

“The 2022 NFL Draft produced several cornerbacks who played well this season, including Sauce GardnerTariq Woolen and DaRon Bland. But don’t forget about Emerson, who graded out as the No. 27 cornerback on the season. Despite not recording an interception this season, Emerson allowed just an 85.6 passer rating. Opponents completed only 53.9% of their targets when throwing at Emerson in 2022.”

The future of the Browns’ cornerback room seems to be very bright after Emerson’s emergence this season.

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2022 Browns season review: Grading Denzel Ward and the cornerbacks

How did the group fair in the 2022 campaign?

During the 2022 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns decided in the modern NFL they needed more corner talent to combat high-power passing attacks. The AFC is full of talented pass catchers and has a ton of talent at the quarterback position. So general manager Andrew Berry used his top pick to take Martin Emerson despite having Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II already on the roster.

It turned out that was a great decision after Emerson had the best season of the three this year. No doubt the team likes where the position group is headed overall but if there is an opportunity to improve it wouldn’t be shocking to see even more added to the room.

Let’s look at each player in the group.

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