Will Cleveland’s defense be a better test of Washington’s offense?
It’s week 5 of the NFL season and the 3-1 Washington Commanders will be facing a 1-3 Browns team at home in Northwest Stadium (that feels weird to type) in Landover, MD on Sunday at 1:00 pm EDT. The Browns got blown out by the Cowboys 33-17 in their home opener, but went on to win a close game against the Jaguars and then lose two close games against the Giants and Raiders. Although the Browns offense has seemed to struggle under QB Deshaun Watson, their star-studded defense has frequently kept them in games.
On offense, the Browns are coordinated by new hire Ken Dorsey (formerly of the Bills) as well as offensive head coach Kevin Stefanski. A variation of Stefanski’s offense was brought to Arizona by their OC Drew Petzing (formerly of the Browns), so it should be somewhat familiar from last week, though with wrinkles introduced by Dorsey this past offseason. The offense utilizes multiple TEs to open up the run game while also creating opportunities to make deep throws to WRs. In theory, this should be an offense that plays to the strengths of a strong-armed, dual-threat QB like Deshaun Watson as it gives multiple ways to attack deep or threaten with the run game, but Watson hasn’t looked comfortable in the offense until essentially last week, when he made some good reads and big throws that were often erased by penalty or dropped by his WRs.
On defense, the Browns are coordinated by Jim Schwartz, whom Commanders fans might remember as former DC of the Eagles under Doug Pederson. Similar to his time in Philadelphia, Schwartz likes to run a Wide 9 defensive alignment with a 4-man front that lines defensive ends out wide to give them space to build momentum and isolate them on opposing tackles. However, unlike in Philadelphia, Schwartz has been running one of the highest rates of man coverage in the league, which has allowed him to blitz at the 6th highest rate in the league. Cleveland’s defense is also full of good players, including perennial All Pro and 2023 DPOY Myles Garrett, All Pro DE Za’Darius Smith, and Pro Bowl CB Denzel Ward.
I asked Chris Pokorny of Dawgs by Nature five questions to better understand the state of the Browns and what to look for in this game.
1) Despite playing a bit better last week, Deshaun Watson has overall not played like a franchise QB during his time in Cleveland. What are the problems with his game, why do you think he seemed to play better in Houston, and does Kevin Stefanski even have the authority to bench him for poor performance?
I always thought Deshaun Watson was a bit overrated in Houston, but that’s another subject. I think a few things happened. First, the league has evolved a bit to where you either have to be a really good decision-maker and passer naturally, or you have to have a great deal of mobility. When Watson was in his prime, his degree of mobility was considered top-tier. Then, with a few years off, Watson had the combination of rust and a slower clock for delivering the ball, which put him, in my estimation, below most of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL, and below some of the backups. I mean, Joe Flacco came in to this same offense off the street and was putting up 30+ points in his sleep. Through four games this season, Cleveland hasn’t even reached 20 points once.
Last week, though, was by far Watson’s best performance of the season. He made good decisions and used his mobility to help set up more manageable situations. Does one game sway opinion on him? Certainly not, because this is his third season with Cleveland and we need to see a lot more consistency to believe he’s turned a corner. Even though some fans wanted him benched, and Kevin Stefanski would have the authority to do so, it’s not going to happen any time soon. The offensive line has suffered an inordinate number of injuries, receivers are dropping passes left and right, and the team’s star running back (Nick Chubb) is close to returning. With how much he’s getting paid, the leash is very long for him.
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2) Speaking of Kevin Stefanski, how would you characterize him as an offensive mind and playcaller? What has OC Ken Dorsey brought to Cleveland’s offense since his hire in the offseason?
I liked Kevin Stefanski’s offensive playcalling during his first few years, when the offense was essentially his. Cleveland’s offensive line thrived on the zone-blocking scheme for their rushing attack, and we saw a lot of two- or three-tight end sets with the passing game working creatively off of that. With Ken Dorsey’s offense so far, I think they have tried to adapt to Deshaun Watson by putting him in Shotgun almost all the time. I am not a fan of that type of offense, including when the running game usually happens from that formation too. It goes against the strength of the type of blocking scheme our offensive linemen were known to thrive at. Cleveland is facing an identity crisis on offense right now because besides our first drive of the game, no one has any clue what our bread-and-butter or strength is supposed to be. I hope there is a strategic shift in the offensive scheme once Chubb returns, but that’s probably wishful thinking.
3) At the time of his signing in 2020, Browns GM Andrew Berry was the youngest GM in NFL history at 32 years old. What do you think of the job he has done building the team and is there anything you wish he would do differently?
Andrew Berry has done a solid job, but there is one move that will obviously loom large in handicapping him: the acquisition of Deshaun Watson. Now, was that Berry spearheading it? Was it team owner Jimmy Haslam? Analytics guy Paul DePodesta? Did Kevin Stefanski play a role? Even though Haslam doesn’t meddle in affairs like he used to, based on what he used to do, I just have this vision in my head that he helped push to make the move happen. Because of that move, the team lost out on first-round picks (and many other picks) for the last several years, which means Berry’s draft classes haven’t been able to achieve much. Imagine if we still had Baker Mayfield, the defense we have now, and three years worth of first-round and second-round picks stocked at other positions? Browns fans are still pulling their hair out over it. So unfortunately, even though I like Berry, I think the Watson trade will always be looked at as the defining moment on his resume.
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4) Who is one Browns player on offense and one player on defense that Washington fans probably don’t know much about, but should?
On offense, most of the players are fairly well known; there haven’t been any hidden gems that are secretly making plays. Therefore, I’ll go with rookie right guard Zak Zinter. He was the Browns’ third-round pick this year, but billed as a second-round talent. He made his first start last week due to injury, and it was a bit rough. He has vowed to improve in his second start, but that is a player to watch for. On defense, I’ll go with linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (JOK). Even though Cleveland fans know him to be a high-level talent, I don’t know how well-known he is around the rest of the NFL, especially with NFC teams who we don’t face often. JOK does a great job in pursuit and generating tackles for a loss, and I view him as a future Pro Bowler with the ceiling of being an All-Pro talent.
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5) How should Washington go about gameplanning this matchup on both sides of the ball?
On offense, Washington should attack the edges. Utilize quick, short passes to receivers or running backs on the outside and make Cleveland chase them (I’m not referring to checkdowns, but rather intended plays). Utilize end-arounds; the Raiders did it with two receivers last week and scored touchdowns on them. Don’t rely on dropping back and trying to consistently throw the ball in the middle of the field, or challenging the Browns’ cornerbacks. There is a formula of misdirection plays and the ones I mentioned earlier that seem so simple, but they work against this aggressive defense.
On defense, I think Washington should attack the Browns with blitzes left and right, and running stunts with their defensive linemen. Cleveland’s offensive line has been very poor at blocking those consistently, and Watson and the offense is bound to make mistakes with more pressure. They haven’t scored 20 points yet this season, and one of the reasons is they haven’t proven they can handle the blitz. If they could and the lightbulb clicks, then obviously it’d be a bad strategy. But even bad defenses have done it repeatedly, and the Browns haven’t beaten it yet.
A companion article to this with my answers to Chris’s questions can be found here.
Thanks again to Chris Pokorny for taking time out of his day to answer our questions about the Browns.