Report Card Grades for Browns' NFL Week 5 Game vs. Jets

Dreary. Grim. Disappointing.

Those words described more than the weather on a rainy afternoon at MetLife Stadium. They also captured the Cleveland Browns' offensive performance in a 17-12 loss to the New York Jets in Week 5.

The Browns squandered an opportunity to start the season 4-1 in a game defined by poor pass protection, missed opportunities and a miserable ground game. Their defense did enough to give them a chance to win, but the offense couldn't capitalize.

Let's take a look at Sunday's performance through the lens of grades for the key players.

Quarterback

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Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson: C-

The only reason this grade isn't lower is that this was the worst performance from the offensive line all season. Watson had pressure in his face often and their inability to create a clean pocket played into Watson's performance.

That being said, there was plenty of ugly from the quarterback too.

The weather played a role. The conditions weren't ideal for a big game statistically, but he completed just 15 of his 33 pass attempts for 155 yards. There were drops in there, but there were plenty of throws that he missed as well.

To Watson's credit, he didn't have an interception. Unfortunately, he also had three fumbles. Only one was recovered by the Jets. Escaping the game with just one turnover was one of the few positives.

Running Backs

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Quinshon Judkins

Quinshon Judkins: D+

Judkins (14 carries, 44 yards) once again struggled to find much daylight in the run game. How much of that is on him is debatable. Regardless, it's hard to give him much credit when the run game completely failed just as it needed to step up in the rain.

Raheim Sanders: C-

Sanders had very little to offer outside of a five-yard run in relief of Judkins. He's shown some juice in the passing game, but his only catch this week went for a yard.

Wide Receivers

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Denzel Boston

KC Concepcion: Incomplete

The rookie receiver was knocked out of the game with a concussion after a head-to-head collision with Minkah Fitzpatrick. The passing game dysfunction in his absence is a credit to what he does for them as a quick-game/screen threat.

Denzel Boston: C+

Boston gets credit for coming down with the only touchdown of the game for the Browns offense, but it's worth noting that he was bailed out earlier on the drive. He dropped a pass, but Brandon Stephens was flagged for questionable pass interference on the play.

The Browns needed more than the three catches and 46 yards he gave them today.

Jerry Jeudy: D+

Remember when Jerry Jeudy showed up last week, quit being invisible and actually had a positive impact on the game? Well, his Week 5 performance was one to forget. Three catches for 19 yards on seven targets was another inefficient game for him.

Isaiah Bond: C-

With Concepcion out, the Browns were forced to get Bond involved in the offense. He led the team with 74 yards on three receptions. Good. He also had multiple crucial drops and probably could have turned his 30-yard catch into a much bigger gain if he just stayed in bounds and kept running. Bad.

Tight Ends

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Harold Fannin

Harold Fannin Jr.: D

It's hard to pin all of this grade on Fannin himself. He's somewhat dependent on schemed touches and Watson just didn't look his way early in the game. However, he only came down with one of his four targets so he was a complete non-factor.

That's not acceptable on an afternoon where Concepcion was forced out of the lineup.

Offensive Line

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Elgton Jenkins

Spencer Fano: C+

Fano was beaten by a bull rush from David Bailey for a sack. Most of Bailey's success came on the right side, but Fano should be charged with at least one sack.

Zion Johnson: B

Ironically enough, this may have been Zion Johnson's best game in a Browns uniform. He was not the problem in pass protection and he played a relatively clean game.

Elgton Jenkins: C

Jenkins wasn't terrible in pass pro himself, but there were a few breakdowns in blitz pickup where the communication was off. The lack of any interior push in the run game was partially on him as well.

Austin Barber: D-

This one goes down as Barber's weakest game thus far. He struggled handling Jowon Briggs' power and he wasn't great in the run game either.

Tytus Howard: D+

It was yet another rough one for Tytus Howard as the right tackle. He was in and out of the game with a knee injury which may explain some of his struggles.

He managed to avoid more false starts, but he was a big reason that David Bailey looked like Myles Garrett.

Dawand Jones: D-

Dawand Jones came in for 33 snaps while Howard dealt with his knee injury. He wasn't an upgrade and couldn't handle Bailey's speed coming off the edge.

Edge

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Jared Verse: B

Box score watchers won't be impressed with Verse this week. He registered just three tackles and no sacks. However, he was collapsing the pocket and flushing Geno Smith right to the interior defensive linemen on multiple occasions.

Isaiah McGuire: B

McGuire got involved with Adin Huntington and Maliek Collins on a sack. He was another one whose work didn't necessarily show up in the box score, but he was effective in the Browns stunts up front that caused a lot of chaos for Geno Smith and the Jets offensive line.

Sam Williams: C

Williams didn't get a ton of opportunities to rush the passer in this one. Most of the edge pressure came from Verse and McGuire, but Williams didn't look bad when he was on the field.

Defensive Line

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Maliek Collins sacks Geno Smith

Maliek Collins: B+

No Mason Graham. No Mike Hall Jr. No problem. Maliek Collins had to cause disruption on the interior with two of the Browns best interior defenders out for the game.

He rose to the occasion with 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. The Jets interior offensive line had a hard time dealing with Collins quick first step throughout the afternoon.

Adin Huntington: B

Huntington was another one who stepped up in the pass-rush department. He was able to knife in for half a sack, but he also had six total tackles and a quarterback hit.

He might not have always kept the best run fit, but he made big plays.

Sam Kamara: B-

Kamara got the practice squad call up with injuries piling up on the outside. He joined in on the fun with a quarterback sack, but it was an uneven performance for the interior as a whole with Braelon Allen rushing for 116 yards on 24 carries.

Linebackers

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Carson Schwesinger

Carson Schwesinger: A-

The linebacker duo of Schwesinger and Williams were among the brightest spots on an otherwise dreary Sunday. Schwesinger was all over the field and made impact plays with a forced fumble and tackle for loss.

Quincy Williams: A

There's always an expectation that a player will bring a little extra juice when playing their former team. Williams lived up to that and more. Creating three forced fumbles and a tackle for loss highlighted an awesome performance.

Secondary

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Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Tyson Campbell break on a pass

Denzel Ward: C+

This wasn't Ward's best game. The Jets moved Garrett Wilson around so Ward wasn't always covering their best receiver, however, he was at fault for some of Wilson's seven catches for 104 yards.

Tyson Campbell: B+

It isn't often that Campbell grades out higher than Ward, but he was the best corner on Sunday. He made few notable blunders in coverage, but it's worth noting that he took out two Browns defenders on Braelon Allen's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Myles Harden: C+

Harden wasn't picked on in this one and mostly held his own in coverage. It was interesting that the Brown gave Mekhi Blackmon a few snaps in the slot. Harden might have some competition moving forward.

Grant Delpit: B-

Delpit might not have played the best coverage all day. He gave up four receptions on six targets, per PFF. However, he jammed Wilson at the line in some of the Browns zone coverages and was a factor in the run game as well.

Ronnie Hickman: C-

Hickman missed a crucial tackle on Garrett Wilson on the opening drive touchdown. It wasn't the only one that he missed. Hickman was fine in coverage, but the run of missed tackles in one-on-one situations is becoming a recurring issue.

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren: B

The rookie continues to play well in his third safety role. He had an interception that was negated by a Maliek Collins offsides penalty. Perhaps more importantly, he played 29 defensive snaps with no major issues.

Special Teams

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Corey Bojorquez

K Andre Szmyt: B

Szmyt missed his first kick of the season when he pushed a PAT to the right. Still, he went 2-for-2 on his field goals with a long of 41.

P Corey Bojorquez: C

Corey Bojorquez had a busy day at the office. The Browns had to call on him to punt eight times and he averaged 52.6 yards per boot.

Unfortunately, that's all overshadowed by the high snap that went through his hands with just under four minutes to go and set up the Jets with a short field to score the go-ahead touchdown.