3 areas where Browns need to improve in Week 10
By John Suchan
No. 1 area to improve: Offense efficiency
The Cleveland offense looks from the outside as though it’s functioning pretty well and for the most part it is. Some have pointed to the play calling in certain scenarios and others have noted that it’s more about the lack of talent on the offense.
Cleveland is ranked fourth in the league, averaging a whopping 385.8 yards a game at this point in the season. Only the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Philadelphia Eagles stand ahead of them. So, the idea that there’s anything wrong with the offense seems to be unfair. Still, there are times when they just can’t get the clutch drive to seal the deal.
The Browns coaching staff has taken note of this over their bye week as offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt noted where the team is offensively.
#Browns OC Alex Van Pelt said one conclusion during the bye week self-scout was to get to third-and-6 or less more often. That's because Cleveland ranks No. 1 in the league in offensive efficiency, No. 1 in QBR and 7th in first-down conversion rate on third-and-6 or less.
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 10, 2022
Limiting the mistakes and penalties on crucial drives will be key for this team going forward. We’ve all seen the frustration called when offensive linemen get called for holding, putting the team behind the chains. As Van Pelt shared, when the offense does get to those short-yardage downs, they are very good — so avoiding the self-inflicted third-and-longs will be huge.
This year, the Browns are ranked sixth in the NFL in fourth down conversions with a 62.5 percent average. That’s up from only a 41 percent average a year ago.
Limiting those early downs mistakes will be very helpful moving forward this season for the Browns’ offense. It’s been the best unit of the team to this point, but it still needs to get better if they want to challenge down the road.
