Cleveland Browns: Surprises and Disappointments at the Midseason point

The defense

It’s bad. It’s really, really bad. Even after the game against the Las Vegas Raiders that looks good on the surface, the Browns rank 29th in passing yards allowed, 31st in passing yards allowed, and have forced one point over the past two weeks. The Raiders are a poor running team and Cleveland was absolutely dominated up front. The defense has forced 14 turnovers, but when those don’t come, things get ugly.

Neither Larry Ogunjobi nor Sheldon Richardson is a 1-tech defensive tackle, and as such, it doesn’t matter which one is playing the spot; they are consistently washed out of their gap, leaving massive holes for backs to run through. The linebackers are poor in coverage and make their tackles six-plus yards downfield. The secondary has been highly suspect outside of Ronnie Harrison and Denzel Ward.

Injuries have certainly played a huge role in the defense’s disastrous performance, but at some point defensive coordinator Joe Woods must take on some responsibility. He continues to put Andrew Sendejo in positions where he knows he can’t succeed. Woods refused to play Harrison or Sheldrick Redwine until injuries left him no other choice.

Myles Garrett has been sensational, but he can’t do it all himself. He’s been clearly hobbled the last few games, but has still collected 38 pressures this season, a full 32 percent of the team’s total output. Only Aaron Donald has a higher percentage, and that’s not surprising, because he’s Aaron Donald.

The defense is at least two offseasons away from being good, and it will look very different in 2021. At minimum, the Browns will have new starters at EDGE, both DT spots, and linebacker. They’ll likely add another starting cornerback as well. The goal for this past offseason was to give Baker Mayfield no more excuses, which they achieved. Next, it will be to start building the defense, essentially from scratch.