Biggest Takeaways from Cleveland Browns' Week 5 Win

The Cleveland Browns left Baltimore with a win over the Ravens in Week 5, something the team hasn't managed to do since 2007. That game also ended in overtime and was a 33-30 victory for the Browns. Is it a sign of a sea change in the AFC North? Only time will tell, but there's no doubt it was a major win for Cleveland, who had just one check mark in the win column before Week 5.

So what did we learn about the Browns on Sunday? Here are the five biggest takeaways for the team following the win.

K Travis Coons Is Clutch

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There's been a kicking crisis in the NFL this year, potentially stemming from the fact that extra points have been moved to the 33-yard line, making every part of a kicker's job more stressful. As such, there are only nine kickers who have made 100 percent of their field-goal attempts, and among them, three don't have perfect records on extra points.

But Browns kicker Travis Coons has been 100 percent the whole way this season, making all 11 of his field-goal attempts (with a long of 43 yards) and all nine of his extra-point attempts.

Coons made all four of his field-goal attempts against the Ravens on Sunday, none more important than the 32-yarder he converted with six minutes and 43 seconds left in overtime to win the game for the Browns. With so many hiccups hitting kickers hard this year, Coons has proven to be one of the few who is reliable every time he steps on the field, and this week, he helped the Browns to a hard-fought win.

A More Pass-Happy Offense

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So much for the run-heavy Browns. This is a passing team, and not only because the Browns have found themselves having to play catch-up so often that it's forced them to be one-dimensional. 

Though quarterback Josh McCown missed all but the first drive of the Browns' first game of the season and the entirety of the second, he currently ranks 20th in the league in total pass attempts, with 149, and 16th in passing yards, with 1,203. In the past three games, he's thrown for no fewer than 341 yards.

On Sunday, McCown completed 36 of his 51 pass attempts for 457 yards and two scores. Twelve Browns players have at least one catch this year, while six have no fewer than 18 targets thrown their way. And now that the passing game has found a rhythm, it could be time to run the ball more, at least according to head coach Mike Pettine on Monday.

During the offseason, it looked as though the Browns' passing offense could be a liability. Instead, it has become a strength. And now that it has been established so thoroughly, it allows the Browns to get a bit more creative on offense going forward.

Run Defense: Still a Problem

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In Week 4 against the San Diego Chargers, it appeared that the Browns run defense was showing improvement. After giving up 154, 166 and 155 rushing yards in their first three games, the Browns allowed only 91 rushing yards to San Diego. 

But the old problems resurfaced against the Baltimore Ravens, with Cleveland giving up 181 total rushing yards on 31 combined Ravens runs, along with three touchdowns (though two of those were one-yard scores by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco). Ravens running back Justin Forsett led the way, with 21 rushes for 121 yards and a score.

On the season, the Browns have given up a league-high 747 rushing yards, and head coach Mike Pettine is still not happy about how his defense is performing.

On Monday, Pettine said that though the defense managed to "get stops" in the final moments of the win over Baltimore, the team still had "way too many mistakes on defense" and that those mistakes "are puzzling and a source of frustration," according to the Akron Beacon Journal's Nate Ulrich.

Until the Browns can clean up this part of their game, every week will be a struggle. Sometimes, as on Sunday, the Browns emerge the victors, but other times their defense has sunk them. The offense is humming. Now, it's time for Cleveland to build a complete, well-rounded team, which means finding ways to make the defense better.

A Change at Linebacker

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The Browns took a different approach to their usage of linebackers on Sunday, potentially as a response to the poor effort against the run as well as the (brief) return of Scott Solomon, who injured his knee after coming off of a multiweek absence with an ankle injury.

According to Pro Football Focus, Paul Kruger played 56 snaps, Chris Kirksey played 69 snaps, Nate Orchard played 25 snaps, Tank Carder played three snaps and Barkevious Mingo played 20 snaps out of a possible 69 against the Chargers in Week 4.

This changed in Week 5, with Kruger playing only 28 snaps, Kirksey 32, Solomon 31, Mingo four, while Carder and Orchard saw their roles expand to 42 and 43 snaps, respectively, out of 70. Mike Pettine said the reasons were because of certain packages on defense they were employing that required certain players to run them as well as a desire to get more playing time for Orchard.

These linebacker rotations are likely to continue while the Browns try to find the right combination of players to not only bring pressure on quarterbacks but also to improve their lot against the run. 

No Turnovers

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Heading into Week 5, the Browns had turned the ball over eight times, with only five total takeaways. It was a huge problem and the main reason why Johnny Manziel never earned the right to start at quarterback over Josh McCown.

But the Browns secured the football on Sunday, with McCown throwing zero picks despite his 51 pass attempts and no one on offense turning the ball over. Granted, neither did the Ravens, but it's a good sign for the Browns that they have put their turnover woes behind them, even if it proves to be temporary.

It's difficult, if not impossible, to win football games while turning the ball over multiple times. From making the right decisions in the passing game to holding the ball properly while running, these little things can make the difference between a win and a loss. 

And given how close Sunday's game became in the final quarter, any misstep by Cleveland's offense could have doomed the team. Instead, the Browns maintained ball security and, not coincidentally, won the game.