Insane stat details how poorly Cleveland Browns offensive line is playing in 2023

It's easy to look at the Cleveland Browns without Nick Chubb and say their running backs simply aren't getting it done. Chubb was on a roll in the first two games of the season — as he always is — with 170 yards on 28 carries. That's an average of 6.1 yards per attempt.

Since he's gone down, Jerome Ford has led the way and now has 186 yards on 50 attempts — 3.7 yards per carry. Pierre Strong, Jr. has 77 yards on 13 attempts but did most of his damage on a 40-yard run. There's also Kareem Hunt, who has just 25 yards on 10 attempts since re-joining the team.

All of that makes it seem as though the running backs are struggling but in reality, much of the blame falls on the offensive line.

As detailed by Malachy Gardner on Cleveland.com, the Browns running backs are getting hit at the line of scrimmage on 48.5 percent of their attempts. This has put the running backs at a huge disadvantage. And despite struggling, they've actually made up for a lot of the O-line's struggles by breaking the tackle 21.8 percent of the time.

They're also second in the NFL in the percentage of yards gained after contact while also having to change their designed running lane 80 percent of the time.

These stats alone are enough to truly set a team's offense back but the coaches clearly aren't helping. Despite Jedrick Wills proving to be the weak link, they continue to run behind him on nearly half of their plays.

"Wills is the clear weak spot of not only the offensive line but the entire team. The 0.6 yards before contact he creates per rushing attempt is the lowest number among all starting offensive linemen in the NFL, and yet, the Browns have chosen to run the ball behind him a staggering 46% of the time, which is the third-highest rate among all NFL offensive linemen."

Cleveland's starting left tackle is also one of the worst pass blockers in the league and has given up more than a third of the team's pressures this year.

There was once a time this line was touted as elite and Bill Callahan was constantly praised for being able to work magic as an O-line coach. However, those days are clearly behind us and if this offense is going to start to find a rhythm, they're going to need this unit to improve — and to improve in a hurry.

More Cleveland Browns news and analysis