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NFL standings ordered by pass rush win rate: Browns defense a silver lining

A vintage Browns defense is at least worth rooting for this season.

By Candace Pedraza

Cleveland Browns v Washington Commanders
Cleveland Browns v Washington Commanders / Patrick Smith/GettyImages
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The Cleveland Browns defense is still, at least, showing up on Sundays.

Pass rush win rate is an excellent statistic used to measure how well a defensive line is doing to win its blocking battles against opposing teams' O-lines. O-lines that are unable to block both defensive lineman and linebackers spying or blitzing in the backfield - like the Browns O-line - often sacrifice scores for their teams. Defensive lines able to get past these blockers are often able to give their offense life with stops.

While that hasn't been the case yet for Cleveland this season - the team's 1-4 record and a -0.2 EPA per play on offense are good indicators of such - it's good to see at least one unit putting in the work and giving the team a shot on game day.

Pass rush win rate for teams are measured by percentages and based on how long pass rushers are able to be blocked. As of Week 5, here's how the rest of the league settles up in pass rush win rate.

Pass rush win rate, ranked

  1. Denver Broncos (55%)
  2. Chicago Bears (54%)
  3. Cleveland Browns (51%)
  4. San Francisco 49ers (50%)
  5. Houston Texans (50%)
  6. New York Giants (50%)
  7. Pittsburgh Steelers (49%)
  8. Detroit Lions (46%)
  9. Las Vegas Raiders (46%)
  10. Washington Commanders (45%)
  11. Seattle Seahawks (44%)
  12. Philadelphia Eagles (44%)
  13. Baltimore Ravens (44%)
  14. Minnesota Vikings (43%)
  15. Cincinnati Bengals (43%)
  16. Kansas City Chiefs (43%)
  17. Buffalo Bills (43%)
  18. Miami Dolphins (42%)
  19. New England Patriots (40%)
  20. Los Angeles Chargers (39%)
  21. Tennessee Titans (39%)
  22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (37%)
  23. Dallas Cowboys (37%)
  24. Los Angeles Rams (36%)
  25. New Orleans Saints (35%)
  26. New York Jets (34%)
  27. Atlanta Falcons (33%)
  28. Indianapolis Colts (33%)
  29. Green Bay Packers (31%)
  30. Carolina Panthers (31%)
  31. Jacksonville Jaguars (29%)
  32. Arizona Cardinals (26%)

The Browns have sacked its opponents 14 times so far this season, good for 12th overall in the league. The team has also forced four fumbles, putting them among some of the better turnover-generating defenses in the league. And, much of that starts and ends with Myles Garrett.

Garrett, who has four sacks so far this season and two forced fumbles, is winning 31 percent of his pass rush attempts - ranked third overall among defensive ends and just behind Detroit Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson and Cincinnati Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson. Despite linger injuries to his lower body, Garrett is still the anchor on this D-line.

According to Pro Football Focus, He's also second amongst all pass rushers in the league in "chip rate," which means he gets thrown off his path towards the quarterback or ball handler with a block at the second-most frequency. That's a huge sign of fear and respect for Garrett from opposing O-lines looking to protect their pass and run game.

In addition to Garrett, Cleveland has one of the most highly rated linebackers in the NFL in Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Owusu-Koramoah has a 82.1 PFF grade, and in Week 5 he had a 90-plus grade with five defensive stops and two tackles for a loss. That was in addition to an interception he snagged - the first for the Browns defense all season.

Outside of these two stalwart defenders, Dalvin Tomlinson, Za'Darius Smith, and Denzel Ward stood out in Week 5 despite the loss. Smith and Tomlinson were especially key to helping getting stops alongside Garrett and Owusu-Koramoah, and you'd have to imagine that this unit barring injury will start to look to rely even more heavily on its pass rush efficiency to at least score off of turnovers if the team's offense isn't scoring.

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