Can the Browns Clean Up Their Red Zone Defense?
Credit: Jessica Rapfogel-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns’ defense was statistically the best in the NFL last season, but one major concern remained: the red zone defense. Overall, the Browns’ defense gave up 270.2 yards per game, which was the fewest in the league. But even though the defense was stingy in giving up yards, when opposing teams reached the red zone, there was a reversal of fortune. Opponents reached the Browns’ red zone 42 times in 2023, and those opponents scored 30 touchdowns. The 71.4 percent of the time that the opponents were able to score was the worst in the NFL.
For a team that was so good at limiting yards, there were so many missed opportunities to get off the field when they let opponents inside the 20. The Browns, with a record of 11-6 despite the worst red zone defense in the league, are determined to turn the tide in 2024. The good news is that there is even more room for this team to take an impressive step forward in the upcoming season.
Jim Schwartz was brought in last offseason to improve the defense, and he was worth every penny. Heading into the 2024 season, Schwartz knows there are even more expectations, and it starts with stopping the opponents more inside the 20. “We played really well in a lot of areas,” Schwartz said back in May. “Red zone wasn’t one. We had too many mistakes there, and that’s certainly an area that we can improve on.’
Schwartz also knows that just because the rest of the defense was great last year, they can’t assume that they will give up only 270 yards per game again this season. The defensive coaching staff has emphasized not taking their foot off the gas heading into this pivotal season. “Coming off of a pretty good year of defense… We can’t get complacent. We can’t act as if anything’s going to carry over from last year. We have to stay hungry that way.”
One big positive from the red zone defense which Cleveland can build on going forward was interceptions. The Browns picked off eight passes after their opponents got within their 20-yard line. That is a double-edged sword, though, because if it wasn’t for those eight interceptions, the red zone defense in 2023 could have been that much worse.
The red zone was heavily emphasized during the portions of the mandatory minicamp that were open to the media. The first year under Schwartz was about learning the playbook during the offseason, but now there is more time to fine-tune the defense. Now that defensive end Za’Darius Smith, for example, is acclimated to Schwartz’ scheme, he believes he is ready to give more to the team than he was capable of before.
“Going into Year 2 now under Schwartz’s defense, everybody can now get a little more comfortable,” defensive end Za’Darius Smith told ESPN. “For myself, coming from a 3-4 system, I was always a guy who had to stand up, so just being down in the [three-point stance] now, not really looking at formations was something new for me. But now I’m starting to get the hang of it, man. And as you can see this year, you see a better ‘Z.’ I can tell you that much.”
A lot of top defenses through the years have been cocky, but this Browns defense is hungry. For as impressive as they were last year, they know they still have more to work on. “If we can make guys settle for three points instead of getting seven, we save four points for the offense, and four points in this league… that’s a big difference,” cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. said. “That’s my goal for this defense. One of our goals for this defense.”
The Browns offense should be better with Deshaun Watson being healthy, and if their defense can clean up the red zone issues, there is no reason they can’t be one of the top teams in the NFL. There are very subtle differences between the great and elite teams in the NFL, and performance in the red zones is one of them. If the Browns can limit touchdowns in the red zone, they’re more than capable of taking that step up to the league’s elite.
Up Next