3 stats in which Cleveland Browns may regress in 2021

Three stats that may regress to the mean for the Cleveland Browns in 2021

The Cleveland Browns went 11-5 and won a playoff game in 2020, but as they will soon discover, year-to-year consistency is incredibly difficult to achieve. Kevin Stefanski and company have a tall task ahead of them to repeat that success, and unfortunately, there are some statistical areas that are likely to regress to the mean. Here are three of them.

3. Rushing attempts

While many fans would like the Browns to run the ball more than they already do (they have two top-10 running backs, after all), running less is the way to go. Every year the NFL becomes more reliant on the passing game, and it becomes less and less efficient to call run plays.

While Baker Mayfield struggled over his first six games, Cleveland leaned on its RB stable to stay afloat. Yet, as Mayfield became more comfortable in the offense, more and more responsibility was placed upon his shoulders, and the unit performed better as a result. By the end of the campaign, Mayfield was playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league with a middling wide receiver room.

The Browns ranked fifth in rushing attempts and 28th in pass attempts per game. Balance on offense doesn’t mean running and throwing an equal amount, but a discrepancy that large cannot happen again if the team wishes to win a Super Bowl. You must throw to win, and having a player as good as Nick Chubb (and a backup as good as Kareem Hunt) does not change that fact.