Biggest Takeaways from Cleveland Browns' Week 7 Loss

The Cleveland Browns suffered their fifth loss of the season in Week 7, falling to the St. Louis Rams 24-6. It marked the first time this year the team didn't score a touchdown. It also marked the return of backup quarterback Johnny Manziel, who took the field in the fourth quarter after starter Josh McCown suffered a shoulder injury and a suspected concussion.

So what did we learn from the Browns' latest matchup? Here are the five biggest takeaways from Cleveland's loss at the hands of the Rams.

The Devil Is in the Details

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Facing the Rams was a tough prospect for the Browns. St. Louis is tied with allowing the fewest touchdowns on average per game at 1.8, and the defense had 19 total sacks headed into Sunday's game. In order for Cleveland to emerge victorious, it would have to execute the little things well and keep in control the things they could.

The latter means limiting mistakes such as turnovers and penalties. But instead the Browns committed 11 penalties totaling 98 yards and lost four fumbles. So, though the Rams converted only one of their nine third downs and possessed the football for less than 25 total game minutes, Cleveland gave away so much ground in just these two areas that it was doomed to lose.

Two of Cleveland's turnovers were Josh McCown fumbles. Another fumble belonged to receiver Travis Benjamin and another to receiver Taylor Gabriel, which Rams safety Rodney McLeod returned for a touchdown. 

If the Browns had a chance to defeat the Rams on Sunday, that chance steadily decreased with each penalty and turnover. The Browns did as much to themselves to lose this game as the Rams did to win it. 

Protecting Josh McCown

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Related to the first point is that Browns quarterback Josh McCown did not have a good day Sunday. On paper, it didn't seem like a bad showing: He completed 26 of his 32 passes for 270 yards. He threw no touchdowns or interceptions, but he did have the two fumbles lost and took four sacks.

Those four sacks—along with the seven quarterback hits, according to ESPN (or three hits, according to Pro Football Focus, along with 18 hurries)—had an adverse affect on the Browns as a whole and McCown in particular.

Though Pro Football Focus notes that he had a respectable 66.7 percent completion rate when pressured on Sunday, the Rams' pass rush prevented McCown from throwing deep passes. Without enough time to throw, he attempted zero passes that traveled 20 or more yards down the field and seven from 10 to 19 yards, with five completions. 

Further, this pressure caused the Browns to convert only three of their 12 third downs. Headed into this game, they had a third-down conversion rate of 48 percent, the third-highest in the league, and given the Browns being so pass-heavy this year—ranking 13th in total pass attempts—it's easy link their third-down success to McCown's arm.

Because he saw such heavy pressure, he was not able to attempt deep passes or keep drives alive on third down. Keeping McCown protected is an issue of his personal health as much as it is an issue of the Browns' offensive health. Because he was constantly under attack Sunday, the Browns could not move the chains, could not get into the red zone regularly and could not score enough points to win.

This Again with the Run Defense

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The Browns' ongoing struggles with stopping the run did not seem destined to turn around in Week 7 against the Rams. After all, they boast rookie running back Todd Gurley, who, in the two games prior to Sunday's, had 146 and 159 rushing yards, respectively.

Gurley had another big day against a porous Browns defense that is now giving up a league-worst 151 rushing yards per game. He totaled 128 yards and two scores Sunday on just 19 carries. And, as a whole, the Rams had 158 yards of rushing offense, which marked the sixth time in seven games the Browns defense has allowed at least 150 rushing yards in a game.

At this point, the Browns giving up 100-plus rushing yards per week is a given. They have no answers for opposing running backs, and it's hard to even see if they are trying. Kevin Jones wrote for Sports Illustrated last week that two of the problems are a too-complex defensive scheme and an inability to set the edge. But it goes deeper than that—they also cannot stop the run up the middle of the field, either.

In other words, any back of any "type" can have a successful day against the Browns at this point.

No solution is yet in sight for this seemingly endless problem, one that reared its head against the Rams again Sunday.

Pass-Rush Improvements

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The Browns went into Sunday's game with just 10 total sacks on defense. It was not the total the team had expected through six games. But the pass rush did show signs of life Sunday. The hope is that this is a sign of tangible improvement and not just a one-week occurrence. 

Cleveland's defense sacked St. Louis quarterback Nick Foles twice, for a total loss of 13 yards. The two men to get home were defensive ends Randy Starks and Desmond Bryant, each man's first sack of the season. Additionally, the Browns also hit Foles three times—or twice, according to Pro Football Focus, which also counted six quarterback hurries in the game.

It wasn't comparable to the heat the Rams brought on Browns quarterback Josh McCown. But it was at least an encouraging sign that the Browns can successfully bring pressure and sack opposing quarterbacks. 

Running Back by Committee Takes Hold

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It's not looking like the Browns will have one, dedicated lead or featured running back for the rest of the season. Rookie Duke Johnson and second-year player Isaiah Crowell were already splitting carries at the start of the season, and now that a healthy Robert Turbin is in the mix, it will be a three-man committee from here on out.

The Browns didn't do a lot of running the ball against the Rams, with a total of 24 runs netting 82 yards and five of those runs belonging to quarterbacks Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel. But based on the division of labor between Crowell, Johnson and Turbin, and it's becoming clear that this is a three-headed rushing monster.

Turbin rushed five times for 30 yards, Johnson six times for 17 yards and Crowell eight times for nine yards. Expect a similar division of labor moving forward, with Johnson in particular also getting passing targets on top of his carries. 

If these three can prove complementary to one another going forward, then Cleveland could start putting together an effective rushing offense. If not, though, it could be more muddled mess than a clear strategy for success. Either way, the Browns like all three backs, and all three should see touches on a weekly basis from now on.