As we’ve been doing for several years now, we’ll break down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent each week, telling you what to expect from a scheme and individual standpoint. This year, Jonathan Heitritter and I will cover the opposing team’s defense. I will focus on the scheme, Jonathan on the players.
Today, scouting the Cleveland Browns’ defense.
ALEX’S SCHEME REPORT
Browns RUN DEFENSE
A solid group and 4-3 front. I’m seeing the Browns run less of the 5-2 fronts we wrote about in our scouting report in the previous matchup and something they leaned on in Week Two. We’ll see if they go back to it. On the year, they’re allowing just 3.8 yards per carry, tied for eighth-best in football, while they’ve allowed only 22 runs of 10 or more yards this year. That’s 10th-best in the league.
Overall, it’s largely the same faces from the first meeting. Their leading tackler is safety Grant Delpit with 59 of them, though the tackle numbers are fairly evenly spread out among a throng of players. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is one of the most athletic guys at his position and is third in the league with 12 tackles for a loss.
The Browns are a single-high type of team who love to pack the box and make teams win through the air against their tough corners. Delpit, No. 22, is often in the box and close to the line of scrimmage, eight-man fronts that are hard to run into. They’ll even show it against 11 personnel, three-receiver sets, as the Browns are highly committed to stopping the run.
With those eight-man looks, they’ll slant and shoot gaps and Delpit gets involved there, too. Hard to account for when you’re dealing with that great defensive line and Delpit can fly in free. Watch No. 22 here.
It could be tough sledding for the Steelers even though they’re coming off two great rushing outputs. Some other defensive stats. Cleveland is allowing just 18.9 points per game, sixth-best in the league. They’ve been a bit feast/famine, allowing three or fewer points in three games (including a shutout) but with four games yielding at least 26 points. However, some of that is not the defense’s fault. Against the Steelers, of course, Pittsburgh’s defense scored two touchdowns while the Browns also allowed defensive scores in shootouts with the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens. So some context is needed.
Situationally, they’re a great third-down defense. The best, in fact, allowing the opponent to convert just 33.8 percent. Their red zone defense falls into the opposite category, 27th at 65 percent. Pittsburgh can convert in the red zone…if it can get there.
Finally, Cleveland has 15 takeaways this year, tied for the third-most in football.
Browns Pass Defense
A strong secondary of talent and scheme under DC Jim Schwartz, one of the top coaching pickups of the offseason for any team. The numbers are impressive. The Browns are allowing a league-low 55 percent completion rate against while their 6.6 YPA against is sixth-lowest in the NFL. They’ve also allowed only nine passing touchdowns (tied for third-fewest) while their nine interceptions are in the NFL’s top 10. Their 30 sacks are in the top five. Overall, opposing quarterbacks have a 72.9 QB rating against, second best in the NFL only behind the Baltimore Ravens.
Of their nine interceptions, their defensive backs have seven of them. Getting pressure helps; Cleveland ranks fifth in pressure rate (27 percent) and is a blitz-heavy team (28.4 percent, 11th) while ranking number one in the league in QB knockdown rate (13.1 percent). DE Myles Garrett leads the way with 11 sacks. No other Brown has more than three but there’s a bunch of names who have a couple. Six players have at least two sacks while 12 have at least a half-sack this season.
Jonathan will talk more about the players below but the cornerback tandem of Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome is about as strong as you’re going to find. And don’t forget about Martin Emerson, either.
Conceptually, they’re a Cover 1-heavy team on third and long. Man-up with a single-high safety in the middle of the field, trusting their corners to win. Examples. Looking for man-beaters in these situations.
On third and long, they sit back and play Cover 2, sometimes inverting it with a cornerback responsible for one of the two deep halves of the field.
When they blitz, they often play zone behind. Alert the nickel corner coming from the field and/or the safety coming from the boundary. That’s their biggest tendency.
Overall, they do a nice job defending the flats on bootlegs and playfakes. They’re more vulnerable to allowing the over route and second-level crosser, especially in single-high with the cornerback usually playing outside leverage and trailing as the route comes across.
In obvious passing situations, they will deploy three defensive ends on the field to rush the quarterback, playing with only one true defensive tackle. Here, they have Ogbo Okoronkwo (No. 54), Za’Darius Smith (No. 99), and Myles Garrett (No. 95) out there. Cleveland has 12 sacks on third down this year, tied for sixth-most in football. Pittsburgh, by comparison, has just eight.
Jonathan’s Individual Report
The Pittsburgh Steelers enter Week 11 of the 2023 season sitting at 6-3, preparing to take on a Cleveland Browns squad that sits at 6-3 as well, coming off a big win against the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns won in a barnburner 33-31 at Baltimore, but Cleveland’s defense is considered one of the league’s best, ranking first in total yards allowed as well as against the pass while ranking seventh in the league against the run. The Steelers are going to have their work cut out for them facing a Browns defense that has notable players at every level.
Defensive Line
Cleveland’s crown jewel on defense is All-Pro DE No. 95 Myles Garrett. The No. 1 overall pick back in the 2017 NFL Draft, Garrett has lived up to the billing as a dominant force on the edge as a pass rusher. Garrett leads the league in sacks with 11 along with nine tackles for loss, 20 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and two pass deflections. He can rush from a variety of spots along the defensive front and is an explosive athlete, having the speed and burst to win off the line as well as the strength to manhandle offensive tackles who try to get hands on him quickly.
Opposite of Garrett, the Browns acquired DE No. 99 Za’Darius Smith this offseason from the Minnesota Vikings. Smith, a three-time Pro Bowler, has a unique blend of size, length, power, and athleticism, making him a great running mate opposite Garrett. He is a stout run defender, having the length and strength to set the edge as well as the movement skills as a pass rusher to beat tackles around the edge. Pittsburgh’s tackles will face a tough test Sunday containing either pass rusher as both are skilled with the production to back it up.
The Browns have an embarrassment of riches at pass rusher, having signed DE No. 54 Ogbonnia Okoronkwo this offseason. He logged five sacks last season for the Texans and posted a sack in last week’s game coming off the bench. Okoronkwo plays with phenomenal effort, pursuing the passer as more of an undersized pass rusher. He also has a stocky frame to stack and shed blocks on the edge against the run. Cleveland also has DE No. 91 Alex Wright, who played notable snaps last Sunday and DE No. 57 Isaiah McGuire who is more of a depth piece in his rookie season.
As for the interior defensive line, the Browns overhauled that unit with the additions of No. 93 Shelby Harris and No. 94 Dalvin Tomlinson. Tomlinson is one of the better run stuffers in the league, spending the previous couple of years in Minnesota where his pass rush productions wasn’t impressive, but he does a great job clogging up the middle. Harris came over from Seattle after starting 15 games there last season. He’s more of a pass rusher than Tomlinson, being smaller in stature and quicker off the line of scrimmage in his pursuit of the quarterback.
Cleveland also has DL No. 96 Jordan Elliott, No. 90 Maurice Hurst, and No. 62 Siaki Ika. Elliott started all 17 games for the Browns last season, recording two sacks and five tackles for loss. A former third-round pick, Elliott is better suited as a rotational piece behind the two starters. Hurst played last season with San Francisco, being more a reserve run stuffer after having two decent seasons as a pass rusher when he first entered the league. Ika, a third-round pick of Cleveland last spring, has great size and bulk to clog the middle as a rotational two-down defensive lineman.
Linebackers
At the linebacker position, the Browns boast a player many believed would become a Steeler in No. 6 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The 6-2, 221-pounder fell in the draft due to size concerns as well as a medical issue to Cleveland in the second round when many believed he would be a first-round pick. The selection has proven to be a steal as the athletic defender has made quite the impact in all facets of the game. He plays with relentless pursuit as a run defender, looking to drop his opponent on contact. He also is a fluid bender as a blitzer playing like Gumby out there by avoiding blocks and making tackles in space. He has great instincts and is player offenses must account for.
No. 5 Anthony Walker Jr. starts next to JOK on the second level of the defense and is a tackling machine, having gone over the 100-tackle mark three times in his career since 2017. He is a physical downhill presence but also represents himself well in zone coverage when he can play the ball in front of him. He’s struggled with injuries the past two seasons, but when he’s in the lineup, he can be a difference maker. Behind those two are No. 44 Sione Takitaki, who is adequate at stopping the run while able to hold his own in the middle of the field in zone coverage. Behind him are No 40 Matthew Adams and No. 42 Tony Fields, who specialize on special teams units.
Cornerbacks
The top dawg at the cornerback position who had a solid game against WR Ja’Marr Chase and the rest of the Bengals wide receiver corps last weekend is CB No. 21 Denzel Ward. Drafted fourth overall in 2018, Ward is one of the league’s best cover corners, having the speed to run with burners down the field as well as the athleticism and competitiveness to battle bigger receivers in jump-ball situations. Despite being only 5-11, 190 pounds, Ward packs a heck of a punch, coming downhill with violent intentions as a defender who puts everything he has into tackle attempts.
A fluid mover in space with two picks on the season, watch for Ward to see time against WRs Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, the Browns using him as their top cover corner to cover either receiver based on the formation.
The Browns also start No. 0 Greg Newsome, who is as fluid of an athlete as you will find at cornerback. He hips are like butter in his transitions, and he can stay in-phase with the best of them in coverage. He plays both inside and outside and must be accounted for by the quarterback, having a pick six last week against the Ravens. No. 23 Martin Emerson Jr. gives Cleveland a long, physical defender on the outside. He’s started five games this season and has six pass deflections and two picks. He will likely see a lot of Pickens when Ward matches up with Johnson on the opposite side.
For depth at cornerback, the Browns have No. 28 Mike Ford, who saw some action for Atlanta last season as well as rookie No. 29 Cameron Mitchell, joining his former teammate Newsome from Northwestern in the league as a developmental piece and special teams contributor.
Safeties
One of the Browns’ key players on the back end of their defense is S No. 22 Grant Delpit. Delpit was a highly touted prospect coming out of LSU but had some major issues as a tackler that caused him to fall in the draft. He blew out his Achilles as a rookie, costing him his first season in the league. Delpit has since become a fixture in the Cleveland secondary, emerging as a full-time starter last year and racking up 105 total tackles (72 solo), four TFLs, 10 PBUs, and four interceptions. He has become a better tackler with time in the league, being quick to rally to the ball while having the instincts in coverage to jump passes.
Free agent signing No. 1 Juan Thornhill has been dealing with a calf injury for most of the season, but still has started eight games for Cleveland this season, including last week against Baltimore. Thornhill is a ballhawk who roams the secondary with good speed and range, flying in to contest passes. He also is an aggressive and willing tackler but can come down out of control at times, leading to whiffs.
No. 26 Rodney McLeod filled in for Thornhill Week One of the season and did well, being a 12-year veteran who has started 138 regular-season games coming into 2023. He’s played both free and strong safety during his time in the league, being able to mix and match with Delpit to play close to the line of scrimmage as well as deep on the back end. The Browns also have rookie No. 33 Ronnie Hickman and No. 37 D’Anthony Bell, who are more special teamers and would step in in case of injury.
