Browns studs and duds Week 4: Defensive issues lead to late loss

Stud: Grant Delpit, S

Atlanta went 84 yards on their opening drive but had to settle for three, thanks in large part to Grant Delpit. On third-and-goal from the 12, Mariota threw it to Drake London in the end zone but Delpit was there to swat the pass to the ground.

Delpit came up again later as midway through the second quarter, the Falcons were facing a third-and-four and Mariota avoided the pressure and got the ball off toward Kyle Pitts. It would have been short of a first down, assuming Pitts was tackled right away, but they didn’t even need to worry about that since Delpit broke up his second pass of the day.

Then as the Falcons looked to take a lead midway through the fourth after Cleveland had just gone up 20-17,d the Falcons responded by going deep into the red zone. But then on third-down, Mariota was looking for Kyle Pitts as he avoided pressure. He couldn’t get it to him thanks to Delpit’s blanket coverage and the Falcons had to settle for three.

Dud: Joe Woods, Defensive Coordinator

We knew it would be tough with three starters out, and the defensive line should be praised for how they held up for the first three quarters. But then in the fourth, things fell apart. Cordarrelle Paterson, who was dealing with a knee injury all week, was sent to the bench and Caleb Huntley — who was just brought up from the practice squad — led them on a touchdown drive, which was all done on the ground.

Huntley himself had eight carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, to put the Falcons on top. There was also another major miscommunication where Olamide Zaccheaus hauled in a 42-yard pass with no defender near him.

Woods wasn’t helped with the missing players but this wasn’t his best outing as the defensive play-caller in Cleveland.

Stud: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah filled up the stat sheet on Sunday with seven tackles, one of which went for a loss. However, he was much more impactful than this even showed.

Once again, he was all over the field, showing off his impressive speed and high football IQ. JOK can sense what the offense is doing and constantly puts himself in a position to make the tackle. With so many key defenders out, he was expected to step up and he did exactly that.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the win but he did his part.

Dud: Jacoby Brissett, QB

At first, it looked as though Jacoby Brissett was going to have a strong game. He started out 13-of-16 but was just 8-of-15 after that and had the dreadful interception to end the game. It’s true he was just trying to make a play at that point, but part of that was on him.

Following a terriblly-timed penalty from Joel Bitonio, Brissett was unable to get the ball out of his hands on second-and-15, leading to a third-and-23. At that point, he also didn’t need to force it, since it was four-down territory at this point.

When all was said and done, he had 234 yards on 21-of-35 passing. He had some impressive plays — especially with his legs — but overall, this was not his best outing.