Jim Schwartz Helped His Defense Remember Who They Are
Aug 17, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz walks to the field against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
After two poor defensive showings, the Cleveland Browns were looking for a way to get their swagger back.
Throughout the season, the Browns had displayed one of the best defenses in the league behind veteran defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. But over the past two weeks, the Browns had allowed their opponents to score 29 points or more while only forcing one turnover in consecutive losses.
They simply needed to remember who they were and Schwartz did just that. Instead of showing his defense film of the Jaguars, Schwartz reportedly showed them a highlight tape of plays they had made all year long.
And it paid off.
While the Jaguars scored 27 points, they picked off Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence three times, forced one fumble and only allowed the Jaguars to rush for 58 total yards. Lawrence threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns on 50 pass attempts while only completing 56% of his passes. The Browns also sacked Lawrence four times, with Grant Delpit, Maurice Hurst Jr., Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Za’Darius Smith all getting to the quarterback. The Browns also registered eight TFLs.
“I always think it’s a good idea to remind your team who you are, remind your team how they play and just remind your team of the plays they have made,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday after the win. “So it’s something that’s visual for them to see. It’s always important to find ways to reach your football team, reach the defense in this case and I think Jim does a great job with that.”
The key to the defensive attack came at the line of scrimmage. Jaguars running back Travis Ettiene has been strong all season long, rushing for 806 yards and nine touchdowns, but the Browns limited him to just 35 yards on 14 attempts. His lone rushing touchdown came on a 1-yard plunge near the end of the third quarter.
“I thought the run defense was outstanding,” Stefanski said. “They had a couple of scheme plays throughout the game that I thought we could be better on but really throughout the game guys were playing with great effort, great technique, being where they needed to be and tackling well. Getting 11 hats to the ball was a big deal with stopping the run too.”
But while Schwartz found a way to motivate his players to play at their top level on Sunday, the defense has come together through a lot of adversity this season. With injuries to cornerbacks Denzel Ward, Cameron Mitchell and Greg Newsome II, safeties Rodney McLeod and Juan Thornhill and linebacker Jacob Phillips at different times this season, Schwartz has had to mix and match his defenses all season long. But, they’ve continued to come through.
The Browns are first in the league in total defense (263 yards per game), have allowed the least amount of passing yards (159.7) per game and have given up the sixth-least points per game.
The Browns have also created 20 turnovers with 12 of them being interceptions. The Browns are seen as one of the best defenses in the NFL, and even without their top corner they continue to perform like it.
It all comes down to just finding motivation and being put in a position to succeed and throughout 2023, Schwartz has done just that.
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