Another week, another Cleveland Browns coverage bust. This latest bust provided the Buffalo Bills with seven points just before the half, leading to a 10-point swing as they got another three out of the half. The Browns lost the game 31-23, wasting yet another solid showing from their backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett. What better opportunity for another edition of Browns Film Room?
We have to get to the bottom of this breakdown in coverage. How do the Browns usually play 3×1 looks, why is there so much conflict, and who is to blame for leaving All-Pro Stefon Diggs running wide-open in the back of the endzone?
Stefon Diggs was wide open, giving Buffalo the lead. #BillsMafia #FPC #NFL #NFLTwitter
— Full Press NFL (@FullPressNFL) November 20, 2022
Basics on how the Browns play 3x1 looks under Joe Woods
In this play, the Bills line up in a 2×2 look. However, they motion wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie from left to right, now giving a 3×1 look. When the Browns are faced with 3×1 looks, they tend to check into the same coverage.
The Browns will play Cover-3 to the three-man side, while the backside cornerback will then check into man coverage on the receiver left on the one-man side. Things get a bit muddy, however, as cornerback A.J. Green comes in motion with McKenzie. This forces the second-level defenders to rotate in a hurry before the snap, drawing confusion and conflict.
With the three-man side playing Cover-3, however, this means the frontside cornerback (Denzel Ward) is dropping into his deep third, and safety John Johnson III is also in a position to maintain his deep third responsibility over the middle of the field. Safety Grant Delpit has already dropped into the box and is playing the flat responsibility to the three-man side.
The diagram is not an exact match to what the Browns were dealing with, but the principles are fairly comparable.
This leaves Green and linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Sione Takitaki in a position to rotate towards the one-man side as the Bills have muddied the look in a bunch look. This is where the assignments break down.
Pretty looking play from the Bills on this TD @NextGenStats pic.twitter.com/DCant70HIx
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 20, 2022
So who is to blame?
Contrary to popular belief, Denzel Ward is not the culprit of the bust. As the boundary cornerback to that three-man side, Ward was right to drop into his third. Once Ward is not threatened in his zone, he correctly peels his eyes to the backside crosser. Emerson is also correct to match Davis in man coverage on the one-man side and carry him across the field.
As Delpit is dropped down, he is playing the flat to the three-man side, leaving Green and Owusu-Koramoah to cover the hook zones (Green frontside, Owusu-Koramoah backside). Johnson III is playing his deep third as well, but jumps down and vacates his assignment to cover a wide-open Dawson Knox.
While Johnson III vacates his zone, this is because linebacker Sione Takitaki does not rotate to the backside flat, leaving Knox all of the green to work with. If Takitaki rotates to the backside flat, still playing in a Cover-3 look, Johnson III does not have the sense of urgency to see and take out a wide-open man in the endzone.
While Johnson III is not blameless, the Bills were scoring a touchdown no matter if he maintained depth at his deep third and matched Diggs or if he felt the need to cover Takitaki’s tracks. Takitaki’s movement and angst live tends to lead to this conclusion as well. Takitaki correctly plays the curl part of his role but forgets the “to flat” that comes afterward.
There is a scenario where Green is the culprit if the Browns were playing in a Match/Carry/Deliver philosophy from their hook defenders. In this scenario, Green should have matched Diggs once he committed his first few steps vertically.
However, the Browns are a heavy and almost exclusively a spot-drop team. This means defenders are responsible for their zones in the truest manner. While this is the case, context tends to eliminate Green as the suspect. If the number three receiver would have pushed vertically it would have been a different story. However, Knox ran a shallow cross and Green correctly passed him off.
Final Thoughts as Browns continue to blow coverages in Week 11
There is an internal pull to two sides of the pendulum on this coverage bust. To one extreme there is a desire to scream that coverage busts are still happening in Week 11. On the other side, however, is the empathy to cut Takitaki some slack as he learns the MIKE position on the fly.
Regardless, the Browns gave up points right before the half as the Bills then score three more out of the break. That is an unacceptable 10-point swing that this Woods-led unit continues to put on the field consistently.
It seems as though the Browns are locked into the idea of not firing staff mid-season, but it sure looks like they will be replacing Woods after the season. There is too much talent on this defensive unit, even if Takitaki is learning a new role on the fly.
The personnel on this side of the ball is salvageable with the right coordinator given the talent. But breakdowns like this give the Browns an inability to get an accurate evaluation of the players they have to make decisions on. It is not going to be a pretty offseason.
