Browns: 5 defensive takeaways from Week 1 loss
The Cleveland Browns opened up the 2017 NFL season with a 21-18 loss to division rivals Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns showed immense growth from last season and the defense flashed its potential despite the loss.
Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers burned the Cleveland Browns down the stretch on Sunday, but overall Cleveland’s defense looked competent and played well in the season’s first game.
There will still be some growing pains for the defense along the way, which is to be expected with a young and inexperienced team. However, Cleveland is quickly establishing a defensive identity and there was plenty to look forward to the rest of the season, staring with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
Related: 3 quick takeaways from the Week 1 loss
Williams has established a reputation for leading tough, quick-hitting defenses, and on Sunday the Browns held their own against one of the NFL’s best offenses by playing a physical brand of football. Defenders consistently flew in like missiles and Pittsburgh had trouble creating anything in the run game. Cleveland had trouble with tackling throughout the last few seasons, but it was clear on Sunday that Williams has been working to clean that up from the moment he got to town.
The Browns made it focal point to contain Roethlisberger and did a fairly nice job in doing so. The defensive line fact looked impressive despite the loss of No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett, which gives fans something exciting to look forward to when Garrett returns. The years of undisciplined defense and a lack of effort are long gone with Williams in charge, and the Browns are building a defense with attitude.
The Browns had a few errors on defense and Pittsburgh jumped on the opportunity to convert big plays. The end of the second quarter the Steelers were able to march down the field and put points on the board entering halftime – something the Browns can’t allow to happen if they expect to win games.
It’s still a youth movement in Cleveland and mistakes are inevitable, but Williams has installed a culture and the Cleveland Browns identity is becoming obvious after just one game.
Here are four more takeaways from the game.