The Cleveland Browns' once-elite defense was nowhere to be found in Week 1. Watching such a strong unit get picked apart by Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars felt like a bad sign for defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg.
Fortunately, the Browns' new defensive play-caller is a man who learns from his mistakes, or so it seems. Against Baker Mayfield, he flipped the script and leaned more heavily on man coverage.
The Browns' four-man rush kept their former quarterback on his toes for most of the game, leading to the erratic decision-making and subpar execution that Browns fans remembered all too well.
Deshaun Watson got most of the praise, but Rutenberg also deserves big props for Cleveland's 23-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Mike Rutenberg's willingness to adjust could be exactly what the Browns' defense needs
According to Next Gen Stats, the Browns blitzed Mayfield on 12 of his 40 dropbacks, or roughly 30 percent of the time. Mayfield completed just 12-of-25 passes for 106 yards and an interception. He was pressured 10 times and took three sacks against a four-man rush.
Mayfield was more efficient against five-plus rushers, though, going 9-for-9 for 76 yards and one touchdown while being pressured only once. Again, props to Rutenberg for identifying tendencies, figuring out what worked, and adjusting mid-game.
It's still way too early to tell exactly what this Browns defense will become. It probably won't be as bad as it looked in Week 1. The Browns also won't catch as many breaks as they did in the win over the Buccaneers. Maybe the truth is somewhere in between.
However, knowing that the defensive coordinator is capable of looking in the mirror, figuring out what's wrong, and being receptive to change is encouraging.
Of course, all strong defenses have an identity, and they can't expect to be efficient if they're constantly shaking things up. But after so many years of playing a certain way, it might take a while before Rutenberg can add his own tweaks to Jim Schwartz's system.
The Browns' defense was far ahead of the offense at the end of 2025, and that should have probably been the case to start this season, even without Myles Garrett. The bar is quite high for this unit, and there were always going to be concerns with a first-time play-caller.
Rutenberg wants this defense to be more aggressive and create more takeaways, but the Browns also have to be efficient. They have to play with intent and purpose, and hopefully the ugly season opener was more aberration than reality.
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