CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns enter 2025 facing a critical offensive dilemma: how to dramatically improve an offense that scored a paltry 15.2 points per game last season. While conventional wisdom often suggests that establishing the run opens up the passing game, the Browns’ brain trust appears to be thinking in reverse – using explosive passing plays to create running lanes and prevent defenses from stacking the box.
During a recent episode of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot didn’t mince words about last season’s offensive output. “They scored 15.2 points... I mean, that’s just utterly ridiculous in today’s NFL. It’s embarrassing,” she said, highlighting the urgency to fix an offense that ranked among the league’s worst.
A listener’s question sparked an interesting discussion about how defenses might approach the Browns in 2025: “Hey Mary Kay, no matter who wins the quarterback job, will defenses be tempted to throw eight or nine men into the box to shut down the running game and force the Browns to beat them through the passing game?”
This question cuts to the heart of Cleveland’s offensive philosophy, particularly as they navigate a quarterback competition featuring Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. The ability to threaten defenses downfield emerges as perhaps the most critical factor in this decision.
Cabot explained why Joe Flacco’s deep ball prowess might give him an edge: “You absolutely better be ready for some deep balls. And that’s why I don’t really know if you can crowd and stack the box like that.”
This perspective challenges the traditional view that a strong running game sets up the pass. Instead, as Dan Labbe noted, “Nothing helps your run game more than the ability to be explosive in the passing game.” He continued, “A lot of times we talk about it the opposite way. Like if you can run the ball, it’ll open up the pass, but if you have an explosive passing offense, it opens up the run.”
With a veteran offensive line and talented running backs in Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson, the Browns have the pieces for a formidable ground attack. But without the threat of explosive passing plays to keep defenses honest, those running lanes will quickly disappear – as evidenced during parts of the Baker Mayfield era when defenses crowded the line of scrimmage against an injured quarterback with limited downfield ability.
This creates an interesting wrinkle in the quarterback competition. While many factors will be considered, the ability to consistently hit on explosive plays downfield appears to be rising to the top of the priority list.
“One of the things we do know for sure is that Joe Flacco, if they choose him, is going to be able to hit those explosive plays that we know Kevin Stefanski wants,” Labbe observed, highlighting how this specific skill could give Flacco an edge despite his turnover issues.
As the Browns look to dramatically increase their scoring output, this balance between explosive passing and effective running will be crucial. The quarterback who can best demonstrate the ability to push the ball downfield – whether in practice or early-season games – may ultimately win not just the starting job, but the opportunity to reshape an offense desperate for a return to respectability.
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Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Orange and Brown Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions.