Cleveland Browns: 3 biggest questions needed answered vs Detroit

Will Kevin Stefanski abandon the run game again?

For whatever reason, Kevin Stefanski abandons the run game far too often. It seems like whenever the rushing attack is on point, led by the newly-paid offensive linemen, he wants to prove that the team is not one-dimensional.

People on the bird app often ask if Stefanski trusts Baker Mayfield and by the notion of what was just stated, it appears as if he does. I mean Mayfield is injured with various injuries, yet Stefanski still calls five-wide, empty backfield sets.

Last week against the Patriots, D’Ernest Johnson got his second start of the season and the second start of his career as he was the only healthy back on the roster. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, the dynamic rushing duo, were both absent.

In place of Chubb and Hunt, Johnson yet again took advantage of a golden opportunity. On the opening drive, Johnson rushed four times for 58 yards and got the Browns in a position to score, which they eventually did. Johnson did not touch the ball again on that possession, which was odd, but the Browns scored regardless.

Johnson went on to touch the ball three more times in the first half, largely due to the Patriots scoring at will. However, after New England marched down the field to knot the game up at 7-7, it appeared as if Stefanski panicked, something that has seemingly been an ongoing occurrence.

Why not keep feeding Johnson, especially with a banged-up Mayfield? Would it not have made sense to protect your quarterback from further injury (which he suffered a knee contusion later on in the game) and utilize the most dominant aspect of your team?

Ben Axelrod of WKYC said this is completely overblown as the Patriots changed their defensive approach to sell out for the run.

The argument to that is the Browns have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, if not the best. They can still utilize the run game, but Stefanski wanted to beat them through the air. Mayfield was picked off on a less-than-ideal throw (insert whatever reason you want) and it was essentially a pick-six as the Pats scored on the very next play.

Stefanski seemingly panicked again and abandoned the run game. Johnson would finish with seven first-half carries and 19 total carries, racking up 99 yards, but a lot of the second-half yardage was due to soft coverage.

At the end of the day, this team is best when the run game is established and Baker can utilize play-action. They have proven time and time again that they can dominate games by letting their running backs cook.

Feed them!