Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam spoke with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler about the team’s struggles this season. Haslem said, “We went from 11-6 and making the playoffs to 3-10, so it’s a little perplexing what happened.” After making the playoffs last season, the Browns are eliminated from playoff contention with four games remaining. They have been dealing with injuries, but much of the Browns’ struggles can be boiled down to the roster’s regression. The team has not had a game where they’ve looked as complete as the team they had last season, and the roster decisions made over the years are coming back to bite them.
The Cleveland Browns Defensive Regression
Last season, the Cleveland Browns defense made them a playoff team. Myles Garrett won the Defensive Player of the Year Award, and the Browns had one of the best defenses in the NFL. This was not only because of Garrett but also the other pass rushers Cleveland had upfront. Za’Darius Smith had 5.5 sacks for the Browns that season. Dalvin Tomlinson had 3 sacks. Myles Garrett, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Denzel Ward were all pro bowlers. And even though many of those players are still on the team, that kind of widespread defensive success is hard to replicate year-to-year in the NFL.
In 2023, the Cleveland Browns had the highest pass rush win rate in the NFL at 60.3% They also allowed the lowest EPA per play on pass rushes, with -0.27. This season, Cleveland’s pass rush win rate is 46%. This is still one of the highest in the NFL, but not as high as last season. The Browns also rank 13th in passing yards allowed per game, when they ranked 2nd last season. The defense is still one of the stronger units in the NFL, but with aging players and more lapses, they have regressed slightly. Over the past few weeks, they’ve given up 35 points to the Saints and 41 points to the Broncos.
Problems on Offense
The biggest problem for the Cleveland Browns has been their offense. And that stems from their play at the quarterback position. The Browns sold the farm to trade for Deshaun Watson and gave him an expensive contract. But he has simply not been good. After the trade, the Browns could not play Watson due to lawsuits and injuries, and when he came back for the first time last season, he did not play well. In fact, the Browns offense got better when Watson got injured and they had to play Joe Flacco. This season, the same thing has happened with Jameis Winston replacing an injured Watson and improving the offense.
Beyond the glaring Watson problem, with the salary cap and his play on the field, the offense has also lost some pieces. The Cleveland Browns traded Amari Cooper to the Bills and their star running back, Nick Chubb, was out for half the season. This has caused their rushing attack to dip from one of the best in the NFL last season to the 30th ranked in the NFL. Winston has provided a spark, as the Browns have gone 2-4 in his time as a starter versus 1-6 with Watson starting, but it is still far from elite.
Jimmy Haslam is perplexed by the Cleveland Browns’ drop-off from a playoff team in the AFC North to a team vying for a high draft pick. But the roster can be reconstructed this offseason. The Browns have already begun unloading assets for draft picks, trading Za’darius Smith and Amari Cooper. They will likely have a top-ten draft pick and should make more moves this offseason to improve their team. It will be interesting to see what positions they target in the draft, as they could go in multiple directions. They could address the defense, add to a weak offense, or pick a quarterback to develop for the future.
