Cleveland’s Pass Rush Primed To Dominate On Sunday
Photo Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports
For all the chatter that has surrounded the highest-paid offense in the league this season, it’s their defensive counterparts that will ultimately decide whether or not the Cleveland Browns walk out of Week 1 with a 1-0 record.
The two-time defending AFC North Champion Cincinnati Bengals enter Cleveland Browns Stadium for an opening week slugfest between two of the best teams within arguably the best division in football. Armed with Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow, All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, and Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, the Bengals feature some of the best offensive skill players the league has to offer.
But the Bengals still have question marks along the offensive line that can be exposed by Cleveland’s defensive front, led by All-Pro edge rushers Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith. And with Dalvin Tomlinson joining the fold along the interior, this is a matchup the Browns have to win — and in decisive fashion — in order to slay the divisional dragon on Sunday afternoon.
Give credit to the Bengals for improving their offensive line over the past two offseasons. Right guard Alex Cappa rewarded Cincinnati’s four-year, $35 million investment by allowing a career-best 2.95% pressure rate last season. Center Ted Karras ranked sixth among all NFL centers last season with a 2.94% pressure rate allowed. But, aside from those two, the Bengals are extremely vulnerable against Cleveland’s defensive front.
Although the Bengals handed out a four-year, $64 million contract to four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. this past offseason, his 6.50% pressure rate allowed last season was a career worst, and his 47 pressures allowed in 2022 were the fourth-most by an offensive tackle throughout the league. With Myles Garrett playing roughly 75% of his defensive snaps last season on the right edge, the former 2017 No.1-overall draft pick can instill an immediate sense of buyers remorse from Cincinnati by dominating his matchup against Brown.
Myles Garrett vs Orlando Brown in a huge 3rd down.
Sack.pic.twitter.com/fbCCeg8BBE
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 12, 2021
Bengals right tackle Jonah Williams is arguably the biggest weak spot along its offensive line, and this is where newcomer Smith will go to work on early downs. The former 2019 first-round pick out of Alabama allowed a 6.35% pressure rate last season, and his 43 pressures allowed were the seventh-most out of all NFL offensive tackles. Minnesota Vikings fans will be more than happy to remind anyone who will listen that Smith’s production fell off in a substantial way over the second half of last season. But over the first six weeks of 2022, Smith led all NFL edge rushers with 33 pressures, along with 5.5 sacks.
Historically, Smith moves inside on obvious passing situations after the defense forces third-and-long. When he does, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will likely try to isolate Smith on Cincinnati’s second-year left guard Cordell Volson. During his rookie season, Volson allowed the sixth-most pressures out of all NFL guards. Smith is capable of singlehandedly wrecking Cincinnati’s drives if he can create havoc by beating the former North Dakota State guard and getting after Burrow.
Za'Darius Smith. Bully ball. First sack as a Viking. pic.twitter.com/6zPdSs3V1c
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) September 11, 2022
Dalvin Tomlinson will likely have his hands full against Cappa, as Tomlinson historically operates out of the left defensive tackle spot. Having said that, it’s worth mentioning that Tomlinson is coming off a 2022 season where he recorded career-highs in both pressures (29) and pressure rate (9.18%), all while missing four games due to injury. Where Tomlinson can really impact the game is by stopping the run on early downs and creating obvious passing situations for Garrett and Smith to pin their ears back on third downs. As great as Cappa is in pass protection, he leaves a little to be desired in his run blocking. According to Pro Football Focus, out of 40 guards that played 350-plus run-blocking snaps last season, Cappa ranked 22nd with a run-blocking grade of 62.3.
Fork lift by Dalvin Tomlinson leads to a sack pic.twitter.com/qfFugbFafI
— Jordan Elliott (@splash_cousin) February 22, 2023
If Tomlinson can hold up against the run and allow Smith to kick inside on third-and-long, that’s when Schwartz will send out his NASCAR front with Ogbo Okoronkwo as Cleveland’s third edge rusher. While the counting stats don’t say much, the Browns other”new pass rusher flashed last season with the Houston Texans. Okoronkwo recorded 36 pressures and a 13.42% pressure rate last season on 268 pass-rushing snaps, which is elite efficiency for a situational pass rusher. For context, only one other edge rusher recorded more pressures than Okoronkwo last season while playing fewer than 270 pass-rush snaps: Green Bay’s Rashan Gary.
Ogbo Okoronkwo wreaking havoc on back-to-back plays. π€ #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/cWl0GS2z9S
— πΊπππππππ ππ. πΏππ πππππ (@soonergridiron) December 11, 2022
With Garrett, Smith, Tomlinson, and Okoronkwo, the Browns have to dominate this matchup against Cincinnati’s below-average offensive line. And with the production those four displayed as recently as 2022, Cleveland has to feel extremely optimistic about its defensive front being the biggest reason why they come out on top against the Bengals in Week 1.
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