Cleveland Browns: 3 defensive takeaways from Week 3 loss
The Cleveland Browns secondary gets exposed
Several members of the Browns secondary got beat up all four quarters as Joe Haden truthers enjoyed watching Sunday’s loss in Indianapolis. Haden’s replacement in Jamar Taylor, who was voted a captain by his teammates, has been an excellent addition by the Browns.
The first two weeks this season he displayed great progress from 2016 and seemed like he could be the Browns’ top cornerback. Though, T.Y. Hilton just could not be stopped and Taylor never found a groove.
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The Colts do have tough receivers in Hilton, Moncrief and tight end Jack Doyle but the way the Browns were able to contain the Steelers’ explosive offense created a higher expectation. Though they had played exceptionally well entering Sunday’s game, the lack of game planning may take the blame for this one.
With or without Andrew Luck, the Colts’ best asset are their receivers and the ability to break away for a big play. The Browns didn’t tackle as well as previous weeks and gave up yards after contact again.
It was similar to how Antonio Brown tore up the Browns in Week 1 but how the defense contained the Steelers for the greater part of the game. Brown was able to make plays that most can’t, and Hilton did the same.
Athletic wide receivers that can extend plays seem to hurt Cleveland’s defense, but as young as they are it is going to happen. The youth movement on defense had many accelerating their expectations, and Sunday’s game dropped the bar to a more realistic level.