Cleveland Browns: Grades from game vs. Redskins

Offensive Line: B

One of the pleasant surprises of Sunday afternoon’s contest was the solid play of the offensive line. This unexpected boost was fueled by Austin Reiter, the young center replacing the injured Cameron Erving. For the most part, both sides of the offensive line created gaping holes for the running backs, something that has been missing up until this point in the season.

Additionally, the offensive line played cleanly, something else that has been a struggle for them to do successfully. There were few penalties for holds or false starts, allowing Cleveland’s offense to sustain drives and move down the field methodically. Most notably, Austin Pasztor had an impressive bounce back performance at right tackle after his five penalties last week in Miami.

With the exception of being ineligible downfield on one play, resulting in a five-yard penalty, left tackle Joe Thomas played exceptional as usual. Right guard John Greco also played well, at least until he was moved to the center position after an injury to Reiter in the second half.

Now, the question is, can the Browns’ offensive line consistently play well? There are signs to indicate that they have indeed turned the corner, but still, this performance was against a weak Washington defensive line. Still, moving forward, there are positives for fans to take away when it comes to the offensive line. They only allowed one sack on the afternoon, and created excessive running room for Crowell. If this continues, the Browns could find themselves among the best offenses in the league sooner than expected.