Cleveland Browns: Week 1 Film Room session

Nelson Agholor’s 35 yard touchdown vs. Joe Haden

On the Eagles’ drive following Cam Erving’s bad snap for a safety, they had all the momentum and were looking for a score to go up two touchdowns on the Browns. It was first-and-ten from the Browns’ 35, and Carson Wentz recognized the press man coverage on the right side. The matchup was second-year receiver Nelson Agholor vs. Joe Haden. The defense blitzed four and dropped seven into coverage. The Browns use two high safetys and it appears the corners are playing man-coverage with the linebackers in a zone.

On the snap, Haden fails to press or jam Agholor at the line of scrimmage, allowing him to get a free release off the line. Agholor uses a quick stutter step on the inside to bait Haden and get leverage to the outside to run his fade route. Agholor has Haden beat by a step, and rookie quarterback Carson Wentz recognized the advantage and threw a beautiful deep ball to Agholor’s outside shoulder where only he could make a play on the ball.

Ibraheim Campbell is the Browns’ deep safety on the right side of the field. He recognizes the play late and is late getting over the top in help coverage for Haden. The result is a 35-yard strike by the rookie quarterback, exploiting the secondary.

Haden simply had awful technique on the play. He failed to get a hand or bump on Agholor at the line and failed to keep Agholor to his inside. He fell for a simple stutter step and it cost the Browns big time. This score was the dagger in the Browns hopes of winning Sunday. Overall, Haden had a decent performance Sunday. However, the Browns defense is weak in many areas and need Haden to be on point in coverage week in and week out.

Next: A confusing play