Grading the Cleveland Browns offense against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1

The primary goal of this offseason was to modernize the offense and to create a system in which quarterback Deshaun Watson could thrive. If Week 1 was any indication, the Cleveland Browns failed.

Passing Game

The Browns were unable to establish the passing game early. It felt like at the beginning of the game they didn't trust Deshaun Watson to do anything. And for good reason. Watson had a historically bad first half.

It didn't get much better as the game went on either. Watson finished the game 24-45 with only 169 yards passing and threw two interceptions. Watson had one good drive at the beginning of the third quarter leading the team on a 75 yard touchdown drive.

You could tell that Watson didn't play in the preseason. The game seemed to be moving fast and the timing was off. There were several missed throws and wide open receivers missed. Hopefully he's able to improve next week, but fans need to let go of the notion he will return to the same player he was in Houston.

Final Grade: F

Running Game

Jerome Ford operated as the primary running back without much of a committee. Out of the fourteen rushing attempts by running backs, all but two were by Ford.

Once again, Ford was relatively inefficient running the ball. Admittedly some of this was due to poor offensive line play and a lack of carries to develop any kind of rhythm. In the first half he had a total of four carries for 0, 1, 4, and 6 yards and the trend continued into the second half.

Final Grade: C-

Offensive Line Play

The Browns struggled on the offensive line. Many could have predicted this as soon as tackle Jack Conklin was ruled out before the game. Trusting James Hudson III to play meaningful snaps, let alone against Micah Parson, is a bold choice and not in a good way.

The line was able to provide a few good pockets for Watson, but for the most part were very leaky. Watson was pressured 22 times out of his 45 passing attempts. On top of this, they allowed Watson to be sacked six times.

The line didn't do much better when it came to running the ball either. The Browns ran for 93 yards, but nearly 40 of them came from unplanned runs from Watson escaping the pocket. The line needs to play much better if the Browns want to win and play meaningful football this year.

Final Grade: F

Overall Efficiency

This was an overall bad game for the Browns. In the first half, six out of the seven drives consisted of three or less plays. The awful trend continued in the second half with four out of the seven drives either being three and out or a turnover on downs.

The team was overall sloppy. The Browns had a total of eleven penalties as a team with seven coming from the offensive side of the ball. You could tell the starters weren't prepared for this game. NFL players should be able to line up correctly without being flagged for an illegal formation.

Final Grade: F

Overall Thoughts

While it is only Week 1, the Browns have a lot to work on. They need to figure out how to help Watson succeed. If they think this can't happen, then they need to pull the plug and move on to backup Jameis Winston and just eat the money from Deshaun.

The team can't afford to keep playing this poorly. The Browns had high hopes entering this season and with good reason. The team is talented. But if the team keeps playing this poorly, it's going to be a long year.

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