4 Ways the Cleveland Browns Can Fix Their Defense

The playoff-bound Cleveland Browns might be the most enjoyable storyline in 2020. 

After one playoff appearance dating back to 1999, the Browns are right in the thick of the race at 9-4 after a dramatic culture turnaround under head coach Kevin Stefanski, charged by a strong Baker Mayfield-led offense. 

But the defense is a major red flag. 

The Browns just coughed up 47 to the Baltimore Ravens during a Monday Night Football loss, this after letting up 25 in Week 12 to 1-12 the Jacksonville Jaguars and 35 more in Week 13 to the Tennessee Titans. Cleveland surrenders 28.3 points per game, the sixth-worst mark in the NFL and has allowed at least 38 points in three of its four losses. 

Three games stand between the Browns and the postseason, a sliver of time to clean things up and try new things defensively—because the defense will be something the league's best teams can and will expose in a win-or-go-home scenario. 

Clean Up the Halftime Adjustments

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Cleveland just isn't getting it done out of the tunnel in recent weeks. 

In their 41-35 win over Tennessee, the Browns scored three touchdowns quickly before halftime to go up 38-7. After halftime, the Titans hardly needed a minute to go 75 yards and score and eventually outscored the Browns 14-3 in that quarter. It didn't impact the outcome, but the offense shouldn't need to score 40-plus to win. 

In Monday's loss to Baltimore, the Ravens needed just over two minutes to go 75 yards and score right after halftime, bumping the lead to 28-14, eventually making it 34-20 as the fourth quarter started. That first drive out of halftime included a 44-yard run by Lamar Jackson and defensive backs missing assignments on a rushing score. What was a 14-all game about 30 seconds before halftime turned into 34-20 quickly. 

Simply put, the Browns have to figure out what's going wrong during halftime and right after it. There won't be leeway in the playoffs to make the same mistakes and as good as the offense is, it isn't guaranteed to outpace elite opposition in the postseason to compensate. 

Rest Up Stars for the Playoffs

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To say the lack of Denzel Ward at cornerback Monday night hurt the Browns would be an understatement. 

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson attempted just 17 passes on the night, completing 11 of those for 163 yards and a score. Two weeks prior, even Jacksonville's Mike Glennon tossed two scores with no picks against the unit. 

It's no coincidence Ward, owner of a 75.5 Pro Football Focus grade with just 31 receptions allowed on 54 targets, has been absent over the last three games that featured a full defensive collapse. 

Yet over those three games, the Browns still went 2-1. The Browns have some leeway on the schedule to bring Ward back from his calf injury slowly considering the two downtrodden New York teams are next up before a Week 17 showdown with Pittsburgh. 

Said game against Pittsburgh could resemble a playoff atmosphere with plenty at stake, just like Monday night. Easing Ward back, if not trying to keep stars fresh on lesser, more impactful snap counts in Weeks 15 and 16 could mean rounding into full strength for arguably the most important run this organization has had since the late 90s. 

Send More Pressure

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On paper, one would think a defensive front boasting Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi and others wouldn't need help applying pressure. 

But more could never hurt in the NFL these days. 

While the Browns do have 34 sacks on the season, the defense has a blitz percentage of just 21.3, the fourth-worst number in the NFL so far. They have a hurry percentage of 8.0 (seventh-worst), a knockdown percentage of 3.8 (worst) and pressure percentage of 17.9 (fourth-worst). 

One big way to compensate for a struggling secondary is to send more pressure to reduce the amount of time in coverage. Doing that, plus sending different looks that haven't been on film yet this season, could pay dividends—in the playoffs or especially in Week 17 against Pittsburgh if the game has meaning. 

At this point, it's worth the shakeup and plays well into the next point. 

Experiment During an Easy Stretch

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

The Browns remain in the playoff hunt, but the next two games against the New York Giants (5-8) and New York Jets (0-13) shouldn't prove dramatically difficult, especially with the way Mayfield's offense has been playing.

Meaning now might be a good time to deploy some new blitz packages or coverage schemes to see how they work, especially against two teams with struggling younger quarterbacks prone to making mistakes. 

Lineup changes should be on the table too. At this point, linebacker and secondary play without Ward couldn't get much worse when it comes to filling run assignments and preventing big plays through the air. 

Maybe that means fewer snaps for someone like linebacker B.J. Goodson, as he has played 89.5 percent of them this year to a 64.1 PFF grade. At safety, Andrew Sendejo has played 96.7 percent of the snaps to a 41.0 PFF grade. 

Seeing what backups can do on a rotational basis and if it can light a fire under the struggling portions of the defense now could pay dividends by the time the playoffs arrive. It's clear Cleveland will spend the majority of free agency and the draft overturning the defense, but it couldn't hurt to try a bit early in the name of improving.