The Cleveland Brown shocked the football world on Sunday when they upset the formerly red-hot Baltimore Ravens 29-24.
Quarterback Jameis Winston, who has replaced the injured Deshaun Watson, was the hero with 334 passing yards and three touchdown passes, including the go-ahead touchdown pass with about a minute left to Cedric Tillman.
But the Browns’ two starting defensive ends — Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith — were also big stars in this win, as both registered nine quarterback pressures in the game, which led all players across the NFL on Sunday, per Pro Football Focus.
The most QB pressures from Sunday Week 8 👀 pic.twitter.com/uN0ZjnKbXq
— PFF (@PFF) October 28, 2024
In Sunday’s game, Smith also had one sack and two tackles for loss.
Last season, he was a disappointment in his first go-around with Cleveland with 5.5 sacks after putting up 10.0 sacks the previous season with the Minnesota Vikings, but so far this year, he has 5.0 sacks in eight games.
Garrett, of course, is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, yet overall, he has had a quiet season with just 4.0 sacks in eight contests after he had put up 14.0 sacks, 30 quarterback hits and 17 tackles for loss last year.
The Browns could be entering some sort of a soft rebuild, and with their offense ranking at or near the bottom of the NFL in several categories, they will have to rely on defense to win games.
That’s what they did last year after Watson and star running back Nick Chubb suffered season-ending injuries — they somehow finished 11-6 and made the playoffs for just the third time since they began play in 1999.
NEXT: Analyst Believes Jameis Winston's Performance Is 'Nail In The Coffin' Of Deshaun Watson's Career
