CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns defense is playing at a championship level through two weeks. They’ve smothered two high-powered offenses, holding both under 300 yards. According to the latest Orange and Brown Talk podcast, this unit ranks among the NFL’s elite — second in yards per play allowed, first in rushing yards per play allowed, and first in first downs per game allowed.
Yet somehow, the Browns are 0-2.
The latest episode of Orange and Brown Talk podcast cut right to the heart of this baffling disconnect, with host Dan Labbe sharing a listener’s question that perfectly captured the frustration: “Two straight top offenses held under 300 yards and out gained. Two turnovers by the Browns and at least two special teams gaffes by the Browns equals 0-2 when they could easily be 2-0. How do you fix that?”
The answer, according to Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot, comes down to one simple phrase: “They have been playing sloppy football, a lot of sloppy football. Now some of that comes from the fact that some of these guys are a little bit younger. I don’t know. It is actually a little disappointing that they are making so many mistakes. You would think that they would be playing cleaner ball and that’s what they’re going to have to do. They are not talented and deep enough at every single position to overcome mistakes like this.”
The podcast detailed these self-inflicted wounds that are undermining what could be a special defense. Against Baltimore, the special teams unit suffered a blocked punt when personal protector Ronnie Hickman “got blown up” according to Labbe. The offense committed multiple turnovers, including an ill-advised interception thrown by Joe Flacco to a double-covered David Njoku. Even the defense, despite its overall excellence, missed opportunities when linebacker Devin Bush dropped what could have been a game-changing interception.
These mistakes have led to a minus-two turnover differential in both games this season, a statistic Cabot emphasized as nearly insurmountable: “Once again, we’ve talked about it over and over and over and over again, if you’re going minus-2 (in turnovers), we’re pretty much going to be talking about a loss every single time.”
What makes this situation particularly frustrating is that the defense is holding up its end of the bargain. Myles Garrett has been unblockable, having Baltimore’s Ronnie Stanley “in a blender” according to Labbe. The statistical rankings put them in elite company with only the Green Bay Packers defense comparing favorably.
This raises legitimate concerns about team morale if this pattern continues. As Labbe pointed out: “That’s where I start to wonder, like you were saying, what happens if this defense keeps playing out of its mind and this team keeps losing football games? Where do things go?”
Cabot expressed similar concerns about their star defensive end: “And I have to wonder what is going to become of Myles Garrett if he has to go out there and continually lose week after week after week. When he was determined, we heard him say at the beginning of the season, to take this team to a Super Bowl.”
The solution requires immediate improvement from both the offense and special teams units. They need cleaner play, better ball security, and basic execution on special teams. Without those corrections, the Browns risk wasting what could be one of the NFL’s most dominant defenses and potentially facing locker room discord between units performing at vastly different levels.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
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