The Browns offense will never be competent until they fix the run game

On Sunday the Jameis Winston experience quickly turned sour after a sweet performance last week vs Baltimore. Instead of throwing three touchdowns, he threw three interceptions in a 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. This would be the third loss by 14 points or more this season and this team still has eight more games to play. Without question, the Browns offense is the most to blame being a bottom 10 team in points, total yards, and both passing and rushing yards. They can trade and fire whoever they want, but this offense will never be competent until they fix the run game.

Read more: NFL insider confirms Browns' trade deadline plans

Currently, the Browns are rushing for an average of 91 yards per game, which is only better than 3 other teams in the league. This awful per-game average is not only the lowest it's been since Stefanski was hired but it's been the worst average the team has had since the 2013 Browns who went 2-14. The 79 yards they gained yesterday were the second-lowest total of the season, picking up a very pedestrian 3.3 yards per carry.

Many will point out the cause of this is the injuries on the offensive line and that Nick Chubb is only three games back from a horrific injury. Looking at what this team did last year, those excuses fall short. In 2023 the Browns had 11 different offensive linemen get 50 or more snaps and Nick Chubb only played five quarters of football. Despite those obstacles that team still rushed for over 120 yards seven times, a mark this team was only able to achieve once this season.

Does the team currently have a franchise QB on this roster? No, but the success rate for any signal caller with an abysmal run game is very low. Looking across the NFL, running the ball well correlates with offensive success. If you look at the top nine quarterbacks in passing touchdowns this year, only three of them are bottom ten in rushing yards. Those teams are the Bengals, Seahawks, and Jets. All of those same three teams also have losing records.

Currently, the Browns are staring down a 2-7 record going into the bye week. This would be their lowest win total heading into the bye since 2019 and they face the best team in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks. With the trade deadline approaching we will likely see some players moved and a potential losing season means almost everything is on the table. The only certainty at this point is that there are eight games left in this disappointing Browns season.

More Browns news and analysis