As most NFL fans have probably heard, the Clevland Browns blew a 13-point lead in about a minute and a half to the New York Jets, in which they ended up losing the game.
And the play that got the Jets back in the play was confusing for the Browns. Just at a glance, it looks like Denzel Ward completely missed his coverage.
Quick strike.@TheCDavis84 | #NYJvsCLE on CBS pic.twitter.com/wchzBWVFYX
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 18, 2022
But, Denzel Ward says that this is not the case.
The Browns’ Defense Just Keeps Deflecting Blame
Most people put all the blame on Ward for the defensive blunder. Most likely because he was the closest to Corey Davis. But, Ward did come out and say after the game, “It wasn’t my coverage… but I’ll take the blame for it.”
And this graphic here gives us an idea of whose job it was to cover Davis.
How does this happen? @NextGenStats #Browns pic.twitter.com/CjnkxvsaNL
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) September 18, 2022
So, if Ward wasn’t covering Davis, who else would he have been covering? Could it have been Tyler Conklin on the underneath route? If that’s so, then it wouldn’t make sense for Jeremiah Owusu- Koramoah to be floating over to him.
The entire situation with Denzel Ward is interesting, but we have to look at what Grant Delpit was doing in the middle of the field. By looking at that graphic, we can make a good guess that Delpit completely missed his coverage.
As we can see in the video, it shows number 22, Grant Delpit, floating over to Garrett Wilson to cover him. But, the thing is, John Johnson III is already back there to cover Wilson.
So, we can make the assumption that Ward was going to stay down near Tyler Conklin with Koramoah to guard the underneath route. That’s the first part. Along with it looking like Grant Delpit missing his coverage on Corey Davis, it could’ve been a mistake by Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods.
No matter what, something like this cannot happen again for the Browns. That game had to be one of the worst the Browns have ever had.