Is Cleveland’s Newfound Defensive Line Dominance Sustainable?
Photo Credit: Kareem Elgazzar via USA TODAY Sports
This is exactly what Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry envisioned when he overhauled his defensive front during the 2023 offseason. While the talking heads were busy over the past few months commenting on Cleveland cutting the largest check for an entire offense in the NFL, it was new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and his front four that stole the headlines for the Browns’ decisive 24-3 beatdown of the two-time defending AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals.
All-Pro Myles Garrett and 2022 Pro Bowler Za’Darius Smith were the headliners, with six pressures apiece. Newcomer situational pass rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo served as the opening act by recording a drive-ending third-down sack on Burrow on Cincinnati’s opening series. Notice how Garrett was kind enough to come out and steal Okoronkwo’s thunder during his opening set with the All-Pro edge rusher literally sizing up the crossover pre-snap with his between-the-legs dribbling?
Myles Garrett was toying with the Bengals offensive line yesterday 😭
pic.twitter.com/Ev3DlyrYRq— PFF (@PFF) September 11, 2023
Myles Garrett é bem versátil, e Jim Schwartz vai saber aproveitar.
O 1° Sack dos Browns na temporada – e do Okoronkwo com a camisa de Cleveland -, vem da pressão criada pelo Garrett (pelo meio!).
Bom trabalho do Ogbo indo pra cima, mas acompanhando o QB e finalizando a jogada. pic.twitter.com/w6MvwKUjmy
— 𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗔 | 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦 🏈🇧🇷 (@Atila_CleBrowns) September 11, 2023
Not to be outdone by his fellow edge-rusher mates, Smith set the tone for what would be an excruciatingly long Sunday afternoon for Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense.
think Za'Darius Smith was ready to rock on his first play of the season? pic.twitter.com/VaZEjmJp21
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 11, 2023
Speaking of newcomers, watch defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson stuff Joe Mixon‘s third-down rushing attempt to force Cincinnati’s offense back to the sidelines.
Dalvin Tomlinson (#94) blowing back the Guard and JOK (#6) submarining in to stop the Bengals on 3rd and short pic.twitter.com/0kFj2ftZBj
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 11, 2023
And Garret closed out his headlining performance with the exclamation-point sack on fourth down to end Cincinnati’s first drive in the fourth quarter.
finish it off with Myles Garrett fighting through chip help to get the sack on 4th down pic.twitter.com/Tt6eWBXASF
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 11, 2023
Apparently, Cleveland’s brand-spanking-new defensive front made believers out of our friends in Las Vegas. As of Tuesday, Caesars Sportsbook pegged the Browns and Baltimore Ravens as co-favorites to win the AFC North at +210. While the Bengals fell to +245 and the Pittsburgh Steelers checking in at +700 after their 60-minute beatdown at Heinz Field courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers (speaking of dominant defensive fronts).
For much of Sunday’s first half against the Bengals, Cleveland couldn’t generate much offense up until Deshaun Watson‘s 13-yard touchdown scamper put the Browns up 10-0 with 17 seconds remaining in the half. Kevin Stefanski and his offense needed their defensive counterparts to answer the call, and Schwartz’s unit delivered in a big way. The Browns’ defense forced five three-and-outs in Cincinnati’s seven first-half possessions and singlehandedly kept Cleveland in it by asserting its will against a helpless Bengals offensive line.
But is this level of dominance sustainable? As I mentioned last week, jaded Vikings fans will be quick to point to Za’Darius Smith’s drop off in pass rushing production over the second half of the 2022 season. Is Cleveland doomed for a similar nosedive out of its newly acquired veteran edge rusher during the final stretch of the season? Or can the presence of Okoronkwo allow Schwartz to reduce Smith’s snap counts just enough to keep an eye towards December and January, when Cleveland will need Smith to be at his best?
Smith played on 66% of Cleveland’s defense snaps on Sunday, which was a tick lower than the 70% of snaps he played for Minnesota’s defense last year. Okoronkwo saw his snap rate jump considerably to 61% on Sunday. His previous career-high in snap rate was 44%, which occurred last season with the Houston Texans. By giving Okoronkwo a noticeably higher responsibility for this Browns unit, Schwartz appears primed to allocate more opportunities for the former Oklahoma Sooner edge rusher, while simultaneously preserving the 31-year-old Smith over the grueling 18-week regular season.
Think of it like the intentionality the Buffalo Bills used in deploying Von Miller last season. Before Miller suffered a torn ACL, Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier recognized that they needed the then-33-year-old Miller to be as close to 100% as possible for when the playoffs rolled around in January. Prior to arriving in Buffalo, Miller routinely played more than 80% of snaps. Although the end result says otherwise, with Miller having his season cut short due to injury, the process that went into limiting Miller’s regular-season snaps was sound.
A key for the Browns over the next four months will be whether or not they can continue to lean on both Garrett and Okoronkwo, while managing Smith’s reps without experiencing much of a collective drop off. If so, this defense has all the makings of one that can make a run at not only an AFC North crown, but to also make some serious noise if/when they get into the tournament in January.
The loss of All-Pro right tackle Jack Conklin means that Cleveland will need its defense even more going forward. But after the performance they put forth against their divisional bullies on Sunday, Browns fans should be very encouraged about their ability to do so.
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