The most disappointing thing about the Cleveland Browns’ Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars is that Cleveland’s defense was abysmal. The Browns had absolutely no answer for Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars offense, and that was disheartening because a dominant defense was the one thing Cleveland could count on last season.
Since last season ended, the Browns have traded Myles Garrett and gone from Jim Schwartz to Mike Rutenberg at defensive coordinator. After Week 1, people are already arguing that those two major departures are too much to overcome. However, the Week 1 performance could have just been a bad day, and Cleveland has the rest of the season to prove that’s not its norm.
That will start on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Bucs are a worthy opponent for Cleveland to prove that Week 1 was a fluke.
Browns defense can make a big statement against Buccaneers offense
Tampa Bay will enter Sunday’s game at 0-1 after losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 33-27, and a big reason why the Bucs lost is that they had four turnovers — all fumbles. However, Tampa shouldn’t be mistaken for an unproductive offense, because whenever the team held on to the ball, the Bucs moved it down the field.
Tampa Bay finished the game with 282 total yards and averaged 4.5 yards per rush. Baker Mayfield also completed 23-of-28 passes for 216 yards. The Buccaneers had four drives where they didn’t lose a fumble, or kneel the clock out, and they scored on all four of them.
Tampa started the game with an 11-play, 56-yard drive for a field goal, lost fumbles on their next three possessions, then put together a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. After kneeling out the clock ahead of halftime, the Bucs’ first possession of the second half went 10 plays for 38 yards and a field goal.
After another fumble, Tampa Bay got the ball one last time in the fourth quarter and drove 51 yards in seven plays to score a touchdown. So the Buccaneers can clearly move the ball and put points on the board. They just struggled to protect the ball.
The Browns defense, on the other hand, struggled to stop anything in Week 1. Cleveland gave up 360 yards of offense — 234 through the air and 126 on the ground. If the defense hasn’t figured anything out in the last week, Sunday against the Buccaneers could look the same.
The potential for things to go bad is also why it’s an opportunity for Cleveland to make a statement. The Browns defense bouncing back against a bad offense wouldn’t really ease any worries. The Buccaneers are a worthy offense, though, so if the Browns can contain them, fans could be hopeful that the defensive unit is getting back to form.
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