Teams pay top dollar for defensive ends and outside linebackers because they are usually the ones bringing down the quarterback. When a team trades away its best edge rusher and the replacement struggles to finish plays, the sack numbers almost always drop. The Browns have found a way around that, and the numbers are surprising.
Mary Kay Cabot shared a stat that shows just how differently Cleveland is getting after quarterbacks this season.
“#Browns are tied for 4th in #NFL w/26.0 sacks despite only 3.0 total from their edge-rushers, all 3 from Isaiah McGuire. They’re on pace for 49.0. Last year, they finished 3rd w/53.0. They’re 4 off that pace despite no Myles Garrett (23.0) and no Alex Wright (5.5),” Cabot wrote.
#Browns are tied for 4th in #NFL w/26.0 sacks despite only 3.0 total from their edge-rushers, all 3 from Isaiah McGuire. They're on pace for 49.0. Last year, they finished 3rd w/53.0. They're 4 off that pace despite no Myles Garrett (23.0) and no Alex Wright (5.5).
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) November 13, 2026
That is a remarkable split. Of the Browns’ 26 sacks, only 3 have come from their edge rushers, and all 3 belong to Isaiah McGuire. That means 23 sacks have come from somewhere else on the defense.
Some of that production comes from the middle of the field. Carson Schwesinger has 3 sacks after bringing down Tyler Shough twice in New Orleans, and most of the team’s pass rush credit has gone to its interior players. The Browns have also used Mike Rutenberg’s pressure packages to create free runners up the middle.
The comparison to last season makes it even more impressive. The Browns finished 3rd in the NFL with 53 sacks in 2025, and Myles Garrett accounted for 23 of them on his way to a historic year. Alex Wright added 5.5 more. Both are gone, yet Cleveland is on pace for 49 sacks, only 4 off last season’s total.
The obvious missing piece is Jared Verse. The centerpiece of the Garrett trade still has no sacks through 9 games, although he has 6 quarterback hits and has drawn plenty of double teams. Verse said this week that he believes a mental block was holding him back and that he has worked to get past it.
If Verse breaks through, this pass rush could go from good to dangerous. A defense that is already tied for 4th in sacks without much help from its edge rushers would become even harder to protect against if its top edge player starts finishing plays.
Sunday offers a good opportunity. The Houston Texans throw the ball as much as almost anyone, averaging 269.4 passing yards per game, and CJ Stroud has 4 games of 300 or more passing yards. More dropbacks mean more chances for the Browns to get home.
Combined with a secondary that has not allowed a 300-yard passer in 54 straight games, the pass rush gives the Browns a real chance to make life difficult for Stroud.
NEXT: Browns’ Offensive Line Faces Its Toughest Test Yet Sunday
