The Cleveland Browns are 4-2 after six weeks of the 2026 season, and the defense is a big reason why. After losing star defender Myles Garrett and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, there were a lot of questions surrounding the unit entering the year. The noise only got louder after giving up 34 points to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1.
However, the Browns' defense has since bounced back, giving up just 17.6 points per game since that Week 1 disaster. On the season, Cleveland is only allowing 317.5 yards per game (13th in the NFL) and 20.3 points per game (7th). The Browns' defense is, once again, a top unit in the league and is leading the team to victories.
The exciting part is that there’s still room for improvement, and Cleveland’s defense seems to be getting better each week.
One area, specifically, that the unit could improve on is taking the ball away. If the Browns can force more turnovers, the defense would move from good to great, and it would also have a positive effect on Cleveland’s offense.
Browns defense must start forcing more turnovers to ascend to another tier
On the season, Cleveland has seven takeaways (four interceptions and three recovered fumbles), tied for 18th in the NFL. It’s not a bad number through six games, and with the team’s turnover differential at zero because of the offense’s seven turnovers, the Browns are surviving.
However, they want to be thriving, and taking the ball away will help them do that.
Turnovers instantly end drives, flip the field, and often set offenses up for easy opportunities to put points on the board. For a Cleveland offense that’s struggling the way it is, it could really use that help from the defense.
After an interception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Browns scored a field goal. In the Carolina Panthers’ game, Cleveland had a game-sealing interception, but the defense forced Carolina to turn the ball over twice on downs, resulting in 10 points for the Browns. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denzel Ward recorded an interception in the second quarter that led to a Browns touchdown, flipping the momentum of the game.
In Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens, Carson Schwesinger taking the ball away from Derrick Henry is what opened up the door for Cleveland to score the game-tying touchdown, before eventually hitting a game-winning field goal.
The only time that Cleveland’s offense hasn't taken advantage of a turnover forced by the defense was against the New York Jets. The Browns recovered two fumbles, but neither resulted in points, and Cleveland lost the game.
For the most part, the Browns' offense capitalizes whenever it’s given an advantage, so the next step for the defense is to keep giving the offense those opportunities.
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