The Browns need to get their act together after a brutal Week 5 loss against the Commanders.
The Cleveland Browns have had a dreadful start to the 2024 NFL season. Cleveland is 1-4 through five weeks and sitting at the bottom of the AFC North with the Bengals. What's worse, the Browns have looked completely out of sort for the entire season.
Cleveland has some good players on defense, but they have not been able to make up for the offense's continual struggles.
Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, and David Njoku have not been able to put up a lot of points on offense through five weeks. In fact, Cleveland only has 79 points for in five weeks, which is an average of just under 16 points per game. That is not winning football in the NFL.
What is going wrong in Cleveland? Who or what is to blame?
Below we will discuss some of the Browns players who are most to blame for Week 5's blowout loss to the Commanders.
Deshaun Watson continues to struggle as Browns QB
Deshaun Watson has yet to look like the player the Browns sold their soul for just a few years ago.
Watson had another rough afternoon against the Commanders on Sunday. Watson was sacked seven times by a swarming Commanders defense and lost one fumble. He was only able to accumulate a total of 212 yards on the day.
Watson has been mostly careful with the football this season, but he has not generated a ton of offense for the Browns. In fact, Watson has yet to throw for over 200 passing yards in a game through five weeks.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski defended Watson, claiming that the offense's issues cannot be placed solely on the team's QB.
“We need to play better,” Stefanski said. “This is not a one-person issue on offense.”
It is true that Watson is not the only player who is struggling on the Browns' offense. However, he is the most important player on their team and he does not appear able to elevate those around him. It is always a bad sign when your head coach is constantly asked if he is benching the starter after each game.
Unfortunately, the Browns look like they'll continue to be stuck in the mud as long as Watson is under center.
Myles Garrett, Browns run defense could not stop a nose bleed on Sunday
The Browns could not hold up in run defense against the Commanders.
Cleveland surrendered 215 rushing yards on Sunday, including three rushing touchdowns. Jayden Daniels was the teams' leading rusher with 11 carries for 82 yards, which included a 34-yard scamper.
It was not just an issue of traditional run defense. The pass rushers did not always maintain rush lane integrity, allowing seams to form that Jayden Daniels could use to escape and extend plays.
One area where the Browns need to improve immediately is their depth on the defensive line. Cleveland has awesome starters (on paper) with Myles Garrett, Za'Darius Smith, Shelby Harris, and Dalvin Tomlinson. However, injuries have completely depleted the depth behind these starters.
The Browns would be wise to invest in some solid depth players who can take some pressure off their starters. It won't instantly increase the level of play on defense, but it will give the starters a chance to rest and be fresh later in the game.
Browns secondary could not hold up after losing Denzel Ward in the second half
The Browns struggled to stop the Commanders all day long. However, it got worse when cornerback Denzel Ward left the game during the second half.
Ward is now dealing with a hamstring injury and his status moving forward is currently unknown.
The Commanders only scored 10 of their 34 points in the second half. However, losing key defenders like Ward helped the Commanders chew up the rest of the clock in the second half.
To be clear, the Browns struggled in coverage even when Ward was on the field. Even though the Browns only allowed 15 completions on 27 pass attempts, they gave up some huge gains. These included a 66-yarder to Terry McLaurin, a 41-yard touchdown to Dyami Brown, and a 33-yard catch-and-run by Austin Ekeler.
For context, the Commanders ran the ball 34 times on Sunday. That means that the Browns did not face a ton of passing attempts because that wasn't the game plan for Washington. They were simply content to run it down Cleveland's throat all day, and it worked.
Cleveland's secondary needs to find a way to force some turnovers and help out their offense. If they cannot hold up, they will continue to get blown out by their opponents each week.
