Cleveland Browns: Defense dominant in loss to Titans

Even though it came in another losing performance, the Cleveland Browns defense showed just how good it can be and soon.

The Cleveland Browns lost their seventh in a row and much of the attention will be focused on the quarterback position, especially with the revelation that rookie DeShone Kizer was out on a Friday night at a bar until 1:30 a.m. (The horror!). Let everyone else discuss three quarterbacks that aren’t currently the answer. I’m focused on a fantastic performance by a young defense that dominated the Tennessee Titans for 4.5 quarters.

While the offense turned the ball over three times between two quarterbacks and scored nine points, the defense held the 11th ranked offense to just 269 yards of offense through 4.5 quarters of football. The Tennessee Titans scored 12 points, all on field goals, because the Browns, while having some bad penalties, managed to rally and keep the Titans offense out of the end zone.

The Browns have been an incredibly efficient run defense this year, but this is the game where they really announced their presence. Marcus Mariota wasn’t fully healthy, but he was out there and capable of passing the ball. Nevertheless, the sixth-rated rushing offense in yards and third-rated rushing offense in yards per attempt was held to 80 yards on 32 carries.

Coming into the game, the Browns were second in the league in rushing yards per play they give up at just a hair over three yards per carry. Even with their hulking offensive line, their pair of backs and Mariota, the Browns actually improved their average against the run after only surrendering 2.5 yards per carry against the Titans.

Derek Henry gained 13 yards on 13 carries today. He also gained an average of 2.2 yards after contact. Hit 1.2 yards behind the line on avg
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) October 23, 2017

Now, the Browns defense find themselves sixth in the league in rushing yards per game at 83.7, ninth in total rushing yards given up at 586 and they are now the best in the league when it comes to yards per carry at 2.95.

The Browns haven’t had this impressive a run defense in decades. In fact, this version of the Browns has never even had a run defense that ranked in the top half of the league. They are now competing to be the best in the league.

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Part of that stout run defense was on display when the Titans were able to get the ball down by their own goal line. After intercepting their second Kizer pass, the Titans had the ball deep in the red zone. Mariota missed what would have been a pretty easy touchdown pass on play action, but otherwise, they tried to slam the ball in and the Browns simply wouldn’t budge.

The passing game is where the Titans made their biggest plays, but whereas in a lot of games they’d ultimately break, the Browns managed to at least stop the bleeding in this game. And in big spots, members of the defense came up with some huge plays.

Of note, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Mike Jordan, Chris Kirksey twice came up with big plays against the passing game. They all had big pass break ups and Kirksey forced the fumble for the one and only turnover the Browns caused.

Overall, the Titans managed just 189 net passing yards on 34 attempts from Mariota, which is more than manageable. They still struggle dealing with the tight end position as Delanie Walker had a productive day as their leading receiver with seven receptions for 63 yards.

CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 22: Christian Kirksey #58 of the Cleveland Browns tackles Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans in the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 22, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Particularly against the run, the Browns played much better team defense. A lot of players stepped up and made individual plays but it came out of a team concept, which is what Gregg Williams wants to see. They expect big plays from guys like Myles Garrett, Chris Kirksey and Jamie Collins, who all contributed this game, but they’re getting production out of players like Emmanuel Ogbah, Larry Ogunjobi, Calhoun, Derrick Kindred, Joe Schobert and even Caleb Brantley.

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This performance came in a game where they didn’t have their best performing corner in Jason McCourty. They were also without Jabrill Peppers, the oft criticized rookie, but considering he was out, most people weren’t expecting the defense to have such a big game. It’s important that without two key members of their secondary, they stepped up and did the job.

The Browns have to find a way to have this type of success carry over and continue. They might not be as dominant as they were in this game, but continuing to get better and more confident so that they can keep the team in games and show they do have the building blocks to be a successful franchise.

This is where individual performance becomes important. Obviously they expect players like Danny Shelton, Garrett, Kirksey and Collins to be impactful. The key is other members of the team are stepping up and taking advantage of opportunities. And it’s the young players that have been brought in the past two years.

The Browns now have 37 tackles for loss, which is the most in the league. 14 different players that have at least one. The New England Patriots have 12 tackles for loss as a team. Derrick Kindred has seven.

A lot of this is a product of the level of aggression that comes with Gregg Williams’ scheme, which can lead to some big plays for offenses. Nevertheless, the defensive line is changing the line of scrimmage and creating opportunities for teammates in addition to making plays of their own.

Next: 2017 NFL Power Rankings: Week 8

They are middle of the pack when it comes to sacks and their pass defense needs to get better in general, particularly against tight ends, but it’s difficult not to appreciate and enjoy what the Browns are putting together on the defensive side of the ball. Some of that is muted by the loss and the unfortunate injury to Joe Thomas, but this young Cleveland Browns defense was dominant against the Tennessee Titans and has been consistently strong against the run all season. The losing sucks and the offense is maddening, but watching this defense come together this season has been enjoyable.