3 areas Cleveland Browns need to improve in Week 11 against Bills
By John Suchan
No. 2: The run game
This next improvement might seem a bit out of the ordinary because the running game seems to be one of the strengths of this team. They’ve had one of the best running backs in the game with Nick Chubb and they’ve had a reliable second option in Kareem Hunt. However, the team’s run game has come to a halt in recent weeks. They’ve been outrun in five of the last six games.
Opposing teams are stocking the box and forcing the Browns to try and beat them in the passing game. But is Cleveland abandoning the run game too soon in many of these matchups? They might just be. While the idea that the team can create more space for their run game by throwing first isn’t the wrong move, maybe it’s time to reevaluate where that’s got their team so far this season.
This isn’t an idea that is suggesting that Chubb needs to be handed the ball 30 times in a game. He’s never carried the ball more than 28 times in a game but once, but it does suggest that Chubb be a more consistent presence on the field.
The other part of the run game improvement comes with the offensive linemen doing a better job in their run-blocking techniques. There continue to be mistakes made by the linemen where they pick up unnecessary penalties which set this team backward. Taking a more focused effort by the offense to win the battles at the line need to take priority as this season moves into the final stretch
. Who wants to win the battle more in the trenches? Right now, the Browns are losing these battles and the run game has suffered.