Despite another game with offensive struggles, the Browns pulled off the biggest upset of the young NFL season by knocking off the Packers 13-10. Here are three takeaways about the Browns' offense after consuming the all-22 film from the game.
Offensive takeaways from Browns' film from Week 3 win over Packers
Too many plays with one man away
Through three weeks, it feels like the offense can be summed up by one phrase: one man away. There isn't a quick blame as to why they've struggled so much, as every unit has contributed for the most part (other than running back with Quinshon Judkins). On run plays, there were numerous occasions against the Packers where they had plays mostly blocked up, but one guy was beaten or in the wrong spot. Against the pass, they struggled handling twists and defensive line games, and other times the tackles were flat-out beaten by the talented Green Bay pass rushers.
Cleveland started with duo runs and trap concepts early to take advantage of defensive linemen in the backfield, and they were blocked up for the most part, but the tackles were not good moving in space. There were also a few occasions where two guys were blocking one man, and the unblocked guy made the play, most often when the Browns asked their young skill players to block.
In the passing game, most of the issues started with the fact that they could not handle the Packers' pass rush. It's understandable, given the talent there, but there were too many cases of everyone not being on the same page, protection-wise. If the pocket was clean, receivers didn't get open. If the pocket was clean and receivers were open, the throw was inaccurate. They had a tough time getting plays where everyone did their jobs, and it showed with the output.
Joe Flacco is adjusting to playing complementary football
Through his long career, Joe Flacco has made a living off being a high-risk, high-reward gunslinger who isn't afraid to push the ball downfield for big plays, even at the expense of some turnovers. He even played like this during his stretch with Cleveland in 2023, but this year he has seemed much more focused on playing complementary football.
This thinking makes sense, considering the defense is the team's strength and they don't want to put them in bad spots. However, Flacco needs to work on finding a balance between playing complementary while still pushing the ball downfield when the throws are there to be made. It feels like he's getting to his check-downs too fast, which is probably a product of wanting to minimize mistakes, on top of his sped-up internal clock due to a struggling offensive line.
Quinshon Judkins' running style wears defenses down
The biggest positive on the offensive side of the ball so far is the rookie Judkins, who had a breakout game in his first full workload with 94 yards and a touchdown. Per PFF, Judkins had 87 yards after contact on the day, and he leads all backs in yards after contact per attempt among those with at least 25 carries.
It was apparent that Judkins only got better as the game wore on due to his tough running style. Defenses seemed tired of tackling him time and time again, and it led to some broken off runs for explosive plays on reps that looked like they should have been marginal gains. Judkins' tough running style seems like a good direction for this offense to build its identity around.