After back-to-back losses, most recently on the road to the Los Angeles Rams, the Cleveland Browns now sit at 7-5. While they still have favorable odds to make the playoffs, the number continues to drop. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz needs to make some corrections, and Joe Flacco needs to continue to play as he did in Los Angeles.
However, what we saw on Sunday was not good enough to pull out a win at SoFi Stadium. With the Jacksonville Jaguars next on the schedule, the Browns must find a way to bounce back. And fast. If the Browns can find a way to scrape out three wins down the stretch, they likely find themselves playing in the postseason.
What stood out in this game on all ends of the spectrum? Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly as the Browns must do some soul-searching down the stretch if they want to find themselves in the postseason.
The good: The Browns can win games with Joe Flacco at quarterback
For most of the game, until the offense was forced to press their luck down the stretch, the Browns got sustainable and good quarterback play out of the 38-year-old veteran. The interception was back-breaking, but for the first time in quite some time, the passing offense in Cleveland looked capable of stretching the field and creating explosive plays.
Darts over the middle, backside digs, and even a deep ball to wide receiver Elijah Moore, Flacco made a handful of big-time throws against the Rams.
This week, however, against the Jaguars, the Browns will face a stiffer test than that of the Los Angeles unit. Can head coach Kevin Stefanski and Flacco get back in the lab and concoct a way to continue to find yards through the air?
Cleveland’s season may depend on it.
The bad: Run game cannot find any semblance of down-to-down success
Yards per game is a deceptive stat. Despite finding themselves near the top in this category, the Browns have lacked consistency on the ground all season long. They have proven capable of breaking off the big run, but down-to-down efficiency continues to escape this Cleveland ground game.
On the season, this Browns’ rushing attack is below-average in Expected Points Added per play. Kareem Hunt has proven to be a battering ram in short-yardage situations, but too many drives start in second and long or third and long due to an inability to create consistent yards on the ground.
And now 13 weeks into the season, it is conclusive that this is just who the Browns will be on the ground. Losing Nick Chubb in the second week of the season has proven to be a killer injury for the Browns.
The ugly: Jim Schwartz has to make adjustments to over-aggressive defensive style
Just as much as the rest of the season depends on the Browns finding a way to create chunk yards through the air, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz needs to find a way to right the ship. After back-to-back weeks of getting gashed on the ground and through the air, teams are figuring out how to take advantage of the aggressive approach of Schwartz.
It does not help that Myles Garrett is playing hurt and that his Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward has been sidelined for the past two weeks. But offensive coordinators are finding ways to gap out the defensive linemen who are asked to penetrate upfield, and the linebackers (particularly Anthony Walker Jr.) have not been great at getting lateral to correct.
Doug Pederson, Trevor Lawrence, and Travis Etienne are next up, so the job does not get easier for Schwartz. Can he prove capable of making adjustments down the stretch as the Browns have five games to prove their worth?
