5 hours ago 2

This unit really struggled for the Browns defense in Week 2 vs Ravens

The Cleveland Browns’ defense was excellent in the first half. Aside from the blocked punt that led to a touchdown, they forced five punts and allowed a field goal. The second half seemed rougher statistically, as they allowed touchdowns on three straight drives. Two of those drives were again short fields, starting at the 5 yard line and the 36 yard line. Even the one that started at the 5 yard line, they only allowed the touchdown on fourth down. And the drive before that, they held Baltimore to a field goal after a big play had gotten them to the 1 yard line.

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 2 game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Pos

Player

Plays

% Snaps

Stats

DL	Mason Graham	44	79%	3 tackles, 2 assists (5 combined). 1 TFL.
DL	Maliek Collins	41	73%	1 QH.
DL	Myles Garrett	38	68%	2 tackles, 3 assists (5 combined). 1.5 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 QH.
DL	Isaiah McGuire	35	62%	1 assist (1 combined).
DL	Shelby Harris	25	45%	1 pass defended.
DL	Alex Smith	20	36%	No stats registered.
DL	Cameron Thomas	18	32%	1 tackle, 2 assists (3 combined). 0.5 sacks, 1 QH.
DL	Adin Huntington	12	21%	1 assist (1 combined).
DL	Joe Tryon	5	9%	No stats registered.

Myles Garrett played well again, getting to Lamar Jackson twice, and I also saw him make two run stops against Derrick Henry. With the outcome, though, I’m sure he’s already feeling the frustrations. He requested a trade earlier this offseason, and although he re-signed, you can see why he asked for one. He’s a dominant force, and the defense basically played a shutdown first half. And yet, the team was still down 10-3, and in the second half, before you knew it, they were down 41-10.
Isaiah McGuire had a couple of close pressures on Jackson, but Henry did a great job getting a block on him each time.
The Browns are using their starting defensive tackles like workhorses, with Mason Graham playing 79% of the snaps and Maliek Collins having 73% of the snaps. Graham had some nice stops against the run. It’ll be interesting to see how Mike Hall cuts into that when he returns.
Cameron Thomas continues to see more reps than free agent signing Joe Tryon, who only had 5 snaps.
Collins was the highest-graded defender for the Browns, according to PFF, grading out to a 92.5. Garrett (89.6), Adin Huntington (85.3), Cameron Thomas (69.9), and Shelby Harris (65.2) all graded well. Not appearing in the top graders was Graham, though.

Pos

Player

Plays

% Snaps

Stats

LB	Carson Schwesinger	53	95%	2 tackles, 2 assists (4 combined).
LB	Devin Bush	44	79%	4 tackle, 4 assists (8 combined). 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QH, 2 passes defended.
LB	Jerome Baker	17	30%	2 assists (2 combined).
LB	Mohamoud Diabate	9	16%	No stats registered.

Devin Bush led the Browns with 8 tackles, and he also had a sack and nearly intercepted a pass in the end zone. He was the Browns’ second-highest graded defender, per PFF, with a grade of 90.7. Rookie Carson Schwesinger had a pretty quiet game, but graded to a 65.2.
Distribution wise, the snaps were pretty identical to the first week. I know Jerome Baker is playing, but I feel like I haven’t seen him on the field. Baker received a PFF grade of 78.6.

Pos

Player

Plays

% Snaps

Stats

CB	Greg Newsome	52	93%	6 tackles, 1 assist (7 combined). 1 TFL.
CB	Myles Harden	29	52%	2 tackles (2 combined). 1 pass defended.
CB	Cameron Mitchell	27	48%	1 assist (1 combined). 1 FF.
CB	Denzel Ward	20	36%	1 assist (1 combined).
CB	Jarrick Bernard-Converse	5	9%	No stats registered.

Lamar Jackson threw four touchdown passes, and the secondary deserves flak for much of that. The one exception that I would say is the one play where Jackson bought time and then found DeAndre Hopkins at the one yard line, with Greg Newsome in tight coverage.
Speaking of Hopkins, he only played 10 snaps, but had a profound impact with 2 catches for 64 yards and 1 touchdown.
Unfortunately, Denzel Ward bowed out early with cramps, putting more of a workload on the shoulders of Cameron Mitchell and Myles Harden. The Ravens seemed to pick on them, as the duo allowed all four touchdowns, to my recollection. Ward (38.2) graded poorly by PFF when he did play, and Mitchell was bad as well (38.2). Harden graded to a 52.7.

Pos

Player

Plays

% Snaps

Stats

S	Ronnie Hickman	56	100%	1 tackle, 2 assists (3 combined).
S	Grant Delpit	51	91%	3 tackles, 2 assists (5 combined). 1 pass defended.
S	Rayshawn Jenkins	13	23%	1 assist (1 combined).
S	Damontae Kazee	2	4%	No stats registered.

Ronnie Hickman was the only Browns defender who played every snap, and his star has not shined nearly as bright since his rookie year. Hickman was also the guy who got blown up in punt protection, allowing the block that led to the Ravens’ first-half touchdown.
Grant Delpit helped punch a touchdown out of the hands of Mark Andrews in the second half. Delpit graded out to an 80.9, per PFF, and Hickman graded to a 73.9.