Grades from the Week 6 loss to the Titans

Secondary: F

It really isn’t fair to call out individual players in Cleveland’s secondary for performing miserably when in reality, they really don’t have a chance. Without Joe Haden, the secondary is completely depleted. To make matters worse, they lost veteran safety Jordan Poyer to an injury as he was the victim of an unnecessary vicious hit while on punt return coverage.

Still, the Browns went with what they had, and did their best, but were gashed. The likes of Kendall Wright, Rishard Matthews, and Philip Supernaw became the beneficiary of an incredibly weak Cleveland secondary.

The lone bright spot was the only turnover forced by either team in the game; an interception by Tramon Williams. The play was significant because it dramatically altered field position, but went for naught after a three-and-out.

But the bottom line was that the Browns couldn’t get off of the field on third down. Despite the defensive line’s effort to stop the run, create pressure on Mariota, and force long-yardage situations on third down, the Titans were 7 for 13. This, due to the yards necessary to convert the third downs, is pinned on the shortcomings of the secondary.

The play of the secondary in general can be summed up by what the unit spent most of the afternoon doing. When Briean Boddy-Calhoun leads the defense in tackles, there is most certainly an epidemic. The Browns’ pass defenders were constantly running down wide open receivers, trying desperately to make tackles instead of playing solid coverage and running stride for stride with a below-average wide receiver unit of the Titans. Fair or not, Cleveland’s depleted secondary didn’t appear to belong on the same field as the Titans.