5 areas the Browns need to clean up during the bye week
By Randy Gurzi
1. Pass rush help for Myles Garrett
Myles Garrett is having another season worthy of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Sadly, it’s hard to claim such awards when the team isn’t winning, so getting on the right track could also help No. 95 cement his name as one of the best in the business — he’s already there but the hardware would make sure he’s rewarded for the work.
On the season, he has 22 tackles and 7.5 sacks while missing one game and being limited in another following a car crash earlier in the year. The problem is that he’s the only one consistently getting after the quarterback.
After Garrett, linebacker Jacob Phillips is second on the team with two sacks. Third is a tie between Jadeveon Clowney and Taven Bryan, who each have 1.5 and then five players have one sack and three have a half-sack. In all, there are 19 sacks by the Browns but only Garrett is getting home with any regularity.
That wasn’t the case in 2021 as he had help from Clowney who had nine sacks on the year. He’s on pace for just three this season and while they’re close to the average per game they had in 2021, they need to have someone else who can win on the defensive line so they can keep linebackers and safeties in coverage.
Clowney has been hurt this season so the hope is that he can turn it around with a week off to rest. If so, that could be a huge help going forward.
