The Cleveland Browns run defense will have its hands full this coming season. Who are the most difficult running backs they will need to contain?
In addition to the challenges the Cleveland Browns’ secondary will face against some of the NFL’s best wide receivers this fall, the run defense will be put to the test as well.
Cleveland’s 2016 schedule features some of the leading rushers in football operating behind some of the top offensive lines in the NFL.
The Browns were ranked 30th in stopping the run in 2015, giving up an average of 128.4 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry. Defensive lineman Desmond Bryant’s season-ending injury is a devastating blow to the unit, as his 24 tackles were most often dedicated to stopping the run. The Browns will need to adjust to Bryant’s loss this season and it will be an uphill climb for this young group if they wish to improve on last season’s run defense.
Signing Nick Hayden is an attempt to solidify the defensive line position, but the degree to which the Browns are successful in replacing Bryant remains to be seen.
The 2016 schedule has shown the Browns absolutely no mercy as it packed with some of the top rushing offenses in the game. While there are more than five running backs who may quite easily be troublesome to the Browns, the top five that Cleveland faces are in a superior category of their own.
Here are the top five opposing running backs the Browns defense will look to contain this fall, ranked from fifth to first:
Next: Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens
This season’s matchups with the Baltimore Ravens may be the two most special games for the Browns. Week 2 is Cleveland’s home opener, and their week 10 meeting serves as the Browns’ lone prime time game, playing in front of a national audience on Thursday Night Football.
Helping to perpetuate the match-ups is the fact that these two franchises are involved in one of the fiercest rivalries in the AFC North. The Ravens are not unbeatable, however, as the Browns proved last year. One of Cleveland’s three wins, and their only road win, came in Baltimore. The Ravens are likely the Browns best shot at a division victory this season as well.
Still, in order for this Browns team to beat any talented offense, they must first win in the trenches and shut down the opposition’s rushing attack. With a running back the caliber of Justin Forsett, the Browns will have their hands full in the two critical matchups this season.
Forsett spent seasons in Indianapolis, Seattle, Houston, and Jacksonville before finding a home in Baltimore. It appears that Forsett is in Baltimore to stay, as his first season as a Raven was his breakout year, rushing for a career high 1,266 yards. Last season, Forsett was sidelined for six games, but still managed to rush for 641 yards on the season, including 121 yards and a 5.6 yards per carry in his lone game against the Browns.
Forsett is a productive, reliable back who acts professionally and gives a team what they need at the running back position. The Browns may have difficulty bringing down the tough runner, but can slow him down if they limit his explosive runs. The secondary will need to tackle well against Baltimore, as Forsett can get into the second level and easily turn a 10-yard run into a 40-yard, game-changing carry.
Due to this ability, the Browns will need to be on the top of their game defensively against Baltimore, as Forsett will be one of the tougher running backs Cleveland will face in 2016.
Next: Matt Forte, New York Jets
The Browns’ Week 8 game against the New York Jets is one of the more unpredictable contests on the schedule. A single win away from the final AFC wild card spot just a year ago, the Jets fell just short. There are numerous unknown factors for this Jets team entering 2016, but one of the most stable is the running back position.
The Jets finished last season with the NFL’s 10th-best running game and signed former Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte to take over for Chris Ivory. Forte was a consistent staple in the Bears offense, rushing for more than 1,000 yards in each season between 2012 and 2014 before having a slightly down year last season.
The Jets may be more of a two-headed running offense as they also have Zac Stacy to spell Forte, but Forte’s experience and ability to have a comeback season makes him the most dangerous Cleveland opponent. Both Forte and Stacy have a great deal of physicality, which will be a challenge for an undersized Browns’ defense to combat, with Forte adding the elements of speed and agility.
For an otherwise stagnant offense, the Jets have an explosive weapon in Forte, who can change a game at any moment. In this matchup, the Browns will need to assign several linebackers to pay attention to the veteran, and consistent tackling is essential. Forte is not a player the Browns have faced a whole lot, but he has had success against Cleveland as in two career games he has rushed for 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Browns will need to develop a thorough scheme and not underestimate a player who is looking to prove that he is not on the downside of his career. This will make him one of the tougher running backs the Browns will have to slow down this season.
Next: DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans
If there is a game in 2016 that Browns fans will actually be expecting a win, rather than just hoping for one, Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans would be it.
The Browns defeated Tennessee last season in the home opener at FirstEnergy Stadium and the Titans finished with the same woeful 3-13 record as Cleveland. There is more upside for the Titans though than possibly than any other 3-13 franchise in NFL history. Quarterback Marcus Mariota is partially responsible for this optimism, as the former Heisman Trophy winner seeks to improve on a productive rookie season. This year he has help at the running back position in running back DeMarco Murray.
Murray was traded to the Titans in March after spending a season with the Philadelphia Eagles and looks to speed up a rebuilding process anchored by Mariota. The primary reason Murray is such a threat to opposing defenses is his unique combination of elite speed and power. It is not uncommon that an NFL running back features both, but what is special is how the former Dallas Cowboy excels in each.
This will presumably give the Browns a great deal of trouble as they often have trouble tackling, and containing running backs who can do damage in the open field. Murray is capable of both, and absolutely capable of having a 200-yard game against Cleveland.
The Browns will need to approach defending Murray with the mentality of limiting him. Any defensive front will struggle against the star back and the Browns, especially without Desmond Bryant, will be no different. Defensive coordinator Ray Horton will need to devise an especially intricate game plan that has the primary focus of containing Murray.
The problem is the Titans have another capable running back in Bishop Sankey and a mobile quarterback in Mariota. This will make the approach different, as containment by the outside linebackers will need to be emphasized with a running quarterback threat. Still, the Browns can shut down Tennessee’s offense if they are able to stagnate the running game, as the Titans lack alternate weapons offensively.
If they can force Tennessee into passing situations on third and long, they should be able to limit the Titans’ offensive production. Although this is possible, it will be difficult against a running back like Murray, who is easily one of the most talented the Browns will see in 2016.
Next: LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills
There’s nothing quite like a mid-December football game in Buffalo. Every time Cleveland visits during the colder portion of the season it is a new adventure and colder weather means that the running game will be all the more critical for both teams.
With that in mind, Buffalo already has an advantage, considering their top rushing attack in 2015. One of the main reasons the Bills run the football so effectively is due to their leading running back, LeSean McCoy.
Entering his second season with the Bills organization after six very successful seasons in Philadelphia, it appears McCoy is still in his prime. Going up against Cleveland in likely difficult passing conditions in December , it would be safe to surmise that the Browns’ defense will get a heavy dose of McCoy.
McCoy, like DeMarco Murray, has wide-ranging assets to contribute to Buffalo, as both his speed and power are nearly impossible to combat. This devastating combination warranted him a career high 1,607 rushing yards in 2013, and have helped him average 4.6 yards per carry in his NFL career.
Much like the Titans, the Bills will present an especially difficult challenge to the Browns since they have multiple offensive weapons. Karlos Williams has propelled himself into a secondary role in Buffalo’s group of talented running backs, and the Browns will assuredly see some of him come Week 15. The pressure Williams and quarterback Tyrod Taylor take off of McCoy helps him, as Taylor is one of the top scrambling quarterbacks in all of football.
The Browns will have to keep a balance when trying to defend the relentless rushing attack of the Bills, as they will need to keep containment on the quarterback, and dedicate likely their entire front seven to stopping the running backs.
Buffalo has one of the top offensive lines in football, making the task of defending their rushing attack even more difficult. All of these factors likely account for Buffalo’s top rank in rushing in 2015, and there is no reason to expect this dominance to subside.
The anchor of the Bills’ rushing attack is McCoy, and the Browns must make a very strong effort to limit the damage he does. Facing the Bills in general will be one of the tougher road games the Browns have scheduled, largely due to their elite running back.
McCoy will excel this season in Buffalo, and he is easily deserving to be ranked one of the top running backs Cleveland will face in the upcoming regular season.
Next: Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
Despite his four-game suspension for failing to complete a drug test, Le’Veon Bell is one of the top running backs in the NFL. The Browns have the misfortune of having to face him twice every year, as the Steelers and Browns will square off in Weeks 11 and 17 of 2016. Facing the Steelers has been difficult enough for the Browns in recent history, and the former Michigan State Spartan has only made matters worse.
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Bell’s greatest asset is his speed, as well as his ability to cut sharply and his nose for the first down marker or goal line. Much of what Bell brings to the Steelers offense cannot be neutralized by any defense, as they are natural instincts. But there are ways Cleveland can stop Bell, though they haven’t done so successfully thus far.
In four career games against Cleveland, Bell has rushed for 361 yards and two touchdowns, serving as just another Steeler who has had success against the Browns. Bell exploded on to the league when he rushed for 1,361 yards in 2014, quickly placing himself in the most elite group of NFL running backs. Only now is he entering his prime, as the 24-year-old has a ton of potential.
One of the hidden strengths of Bell’s game is his ability to receive out of the backfield. In his 2014 breakout season, Bell also caught three touchdown passes and totaled 854 receiving yards. This threat is one that the Browns cannot ignore, making the young rising star the most formidable offensive threat the Browns will face this season.
The Browns’ run defense is going to be tested early and often in 2016, as efficient running backs behind talented offensive lines infest the schedule. Besides this top five list, Cleveland faces Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill, two skilled backs with the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as Dallas Cowboys’ rookie Ezekiel Elliot, who could make an immediate impact at the NFL level.
Next: Top 5 opposing WRs in 2016
Without a strong improvement from the defensive line and the linebackers, the Browns’ defense will be in for a long 2016 season. But if they can find ways to at least contain these explosive rushing threats, success may come more quickly than many realize.