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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Browns Alchemy

Data Dump: Browns tumble down the rankings after Broncos defeat

After a bad loss to the Broncos, the Cleveland Browns have spent the week in Los Angeles, California, preparing for the Rams on Sunday. I believe the team had the right idea of putting distance between themselves and the Broncos game. The theme of this week’s “Data Dump” is reminding ourselves of the season, not the results of one game. It’s about the cumulative work of a team battling injuries and adversaries throughout the season.

The Browns announced that Joe Flacco is the backup quarterback if starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson is not cleared from the concussion protocol. If Flacco starts, he will be the fourth quarterback to start for the Browns this season. While Browns fans are accustomed to starting four or more quarterbacks in a season, winning those games is a welcomed change. Unfortunately, four quarterbacks over 13 weeks is a death knell for an offense that will certainly rank near the bottom of the league in most metrics and categories.

The defense is the team’s shining star leading us to the playoffs. They still rank at the top of the league after an uncharacteristically rough game against the Denver Broncos.  They have a chance to correct the course against a Rams offense that has been red-hot the past two weeks.

Let’s reflect on how the Browns are doing this season in spite of their injuries.

Recap of the Broncos game

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Browns had the offensive production of a team that started a rookie quarterback and then had to replace him. The metrics paint a perfect story of what happened on Sunday. The Browns defense had one of their least successful games all season and still held the Broncos to an average offensive performance.

Browns fight towards the fourth tier

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns are teetering between tiers four and five as the offense cannot find consistency at quarterback.

Success rate on offense and defense

The success rates of the Browns offense and defense are a tale of two teams.

Early down efficiencies

The Browns have been unable to find success on early down play-action passes as they have in seasons past. As a result, the Browns are one of the least efficient offenses in the NFL.

The Browns are still aggressive on fourth down

Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

The Browns have done a good job remaining aggressive after finding an answer at kicker. The team has found a solid balance of allowing Dustin Hopkins to score points while keeping one of their best strategic edges in the NFL.

Browns still dominant in the trenches

Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Ending Data Dump this week with my favorite metric, which combines the subjective grading of PFF with the tracking data from ESPN. The play of the Browns offensive line has rapidly deteriorated over the past few weeks. The team is battling numerous injuries to their starting and backup tackles. The Browns desperately need to find a replacement for left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. who may return at the very end of the season.

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