Cleveland's nonexistent run game a major hole in Kevin Stefanski's offense
By Mac Blank
To say the Browns have not lived up to everyone's expectations this season is an understatement. They have struggled in all three phases, but their worst unit has to be the offense. The Browns are bottom of the league in points, expected points averaged, and 3rd down conversion percentage.
Looking purely at the stats, you would think the roster is full of rookies and journeymen veterans, but in reality, the Browns have the most expensive offensive roster in the league. However, its struggles begin and end because the offense has no balance. The Browns need to run the ball more.
Through four weeks, the Browns are currently 3rd in the NFL for most pass attempts in the league, and that has some immediate ripple effects on the stat sheet. Due to passing more, they are also 27th in average time of possession per drive and 1st in most sacks given up with 19. This makes sense as passing takes less time off the clock, and the more your quarterback drops back to pass, the more likely he is to be sacked.
Usually, when teams are high in pass attempts, it's because they are trailing in games. That just isn't true in Cleveland's case. This year the Browns had a one-score differential in the early 4th quarter in each of the past three games. Even in the home opener, the Browns were only down less than two scores for their first five offense drives of the game. These were never out of reach to warrant the heavy passing.
On the other hand, it really seems the Browns have given up trying to run the ball. On the surface, being 27th in rushing attempts is bad, but that doesn't even tell the whole story. 15 of those 88 rushing attempts were scrambles by quarterback Deshaun Watson, which makes 73 true designed rushing plays. That averages out to a shade over 18 run plays a game. This is astounding compared to the 37 passing attempts they are averaging per game.
Adding more run plays would heavily boost this offense and mask its many issues, the biggest being its offensive line. The Browns have had five starters plus more depth players miss games due to injury, and that doesn't count the players that are currently playing through injury. As a result, Deshaun Watson is facing the most pressure of any quarterback in the league.
Run blocking is much easier for a lineman as they are pushing forward, instead of sitting back and reacting to the pass rush. It would also make the offense less predictable. When defensive lines face the Browns, they don't have to worry about getting too far upfield or gap assignment to defend against the run - they can just pin their ears back and race to the backfield for a sack.
Running the ball more would also create more explosive plays downfield for this passing offense. The bread and butter of head coach Kevin Stefanski's playbook has been play-action, but this year defenses know they are passing and aren't fooled by the fake handoff. In the past the Browns have been top 10 in play action pass yards multiple times, being as high as 4th last year.
This year only 50 of their 606 passing yards were from action, which is 27th in the league. Without the play-action game, the Browns are struggling to push the ball downfield as Deshaun Watson's passes this season are averaging eight yards a completion, the third-lowest average of any Browns QB under Kevin Stefanski. He is only ahead of Dorian Thompson's average as a rookie last year and the one game Nick Mullins started back in 2021.
Does Nick Chubb being out of the lineup affect Brown's desire to run the ball? Yes, but Jerome Ford has been serviceable the last four weeks. Among all NFL running backs with at least 30 carries, Ford is tied for 6th in yards per carry, with 5.2 yards per attempt. This is puzzling considering that the average is better than Watson's 4.9 yards per attempt. Sure, he and D'Onta Foreman make get small gains on a play, but you can't abandon running the ball.
If all these facts don't highlight how much the Browns need to run the ball, take a look at the injury news in Cleveland this week. Elite running back Nick Chubb has finally been cleared for practice after his injury last year. What better way to boost this offense than to have the leading rusher since 2018 back in the lineup? Even if he is half of what he was before, he can at least take some attention away from Watson and the Browns passing offense. In the end, the Browns need to get more offensive production because part of the reason they are 1-3 is because they've yet to score 20 or more points in a game. They still have time to turn things around, but time is running out.