3 areas the Browns must vastly improve before facing Baltimore

Browns Area of concern No. 2: Third down efficiency

Unfortunately, this area of concern applies to both sides of the ball. But for the sake of this article, we will stick to the offensive aspect of third-down efficiency. Since the Browns’ bye week, they have converted a dismal 22-of-68 of their third downs on offense. That is a 32 percent conversion rate over that five-game span.

While they’re not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, their 0.4% chances of making a postseason appearance might as well be .0000001%. Lloyd Christmas had better odds with Mary Swanson.

The remainder of the Browns season is about one thing; getting Deshaun Watson on track, finding which concepts and plays best fit his skillset, and determining which skill players are compatible. The only way to properly ascertain that is to get Watson as many game reps as possible. How can the Browns accomplish that? (Say it with me) Convert third downs and extend drives!

If the Browns are unable to consistently convert third downs over these last four games, they risk taking too many unknown variables into the offseason, which is something this franchise cannot afford. 2023 has to be an all-in year, not throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks year. That’s what the remainder of this season is for