In Sunday’s 14-7 road victory at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Browns made it consecutive weeks in which the Cleveland defense held opponents to seven points or fewer.
Myles Garrett is excited about what this means for the 2021 Browns defense unit.
After the game, Garrett said the following:
“It shows that last week wasn’t just a one-time thing. We can hold up against just about anybody and everybody.”
The two-time Pro Bowler led by example on Sunday, as he was the team’s best player, according to Pro Football Focus:
Highest-graded #Browns from Week 4:
1️⃣ Joel Bitonio, OG- 90.9
2️⃣ Myles Garrett, EDGE- 90.2
3️⃣ Greedy Williams, CB- 86.4
4️⃣ Jadeveon Clowney, EDGE- 81.4
5️⃣ Malik Jackson, DI- 81.1 pic.twitter.com/eJsiu6t3Tr— PFF CLE Browns (@PFF_Browns) October 4, 2021
Garrett continued by talking about how great it was to stop the Vikings’ high-flying offense:
“We are hoping we can make this a trend. We got started against a rookie, but Cousins was playing very well. Their offense was clicking and rolling.”
It is important for the Browns to string together impressive defensive performances, and they did so on Sunday.
Greedy Williams, the second-best Browns defensive player in Week 4, said:
“We practiced [covering] a lot of deep balls.”
The 23-year-old cornerback showed that he had been practicing a lot.
He brought in the first interception of his NFL career on Sunday.
It was in his 16th career game, and it was the only turnover of the game.
Grant Delpit also had a fourth-quarter interception in his hands before a Troy Hill pass interference knocked the takeaway off the board.
Who is PFF’s Best Rookie This Season?
Garrett, Williams, Jadeveon Clowney, and Malik Jackson are not the only Browns who have been performing well.
Browns rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the team’s No. 52 overall pick in the draft, is the best rookie in the NFL through four weeks:
The highest-graded rookie this season?
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah 😎 pic.twitter.com/CpjdhWU5EC
— PFF (@PFF) October 4, 2021
The 2020 unanimous All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year set new NFL career-highs on Sunday:
- Tackles (seven)
- Defensive snaps (35)
- Special teams snaps (17)
Defensive coordinator Joe Woods and company are trusting their rookie linebacker.
He has played more than 50 percent of the team’s defensive snaps each of the last two weeks.
Either that is a coincidence or he is helping this Browns team in a big way.
He recorded his first career sack — well, it was half of a sack — in Week 3’s win.
He also had two passes defended in that contest.
It will be very exciting to see what Owusu-Koramoah has in store for the remainder of 2021.
Can the Browns Make it Three Straight Strong Weeks on Defense?
Heading into Monday Night Football, the Browns and Vikings combined for the fewest points scored in a game in Week 4.
It will not be easy to have a victory by a similar score next week.
The 3-1 Browns head to SoFi Stadium to face the Los Angeles Chargers on October 10.
The Week 5 matchup expects to be a great battle between Baker Mayfield and Justin Herbert.
Brandon Staley, who coached the Chargers to a surprising victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3, is the Coach of Year frontrunner this year.
He and Los Angeles will host 2020 Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski.
Stefanski has his team playing great recently.
The Browns’ defense has been flexing its muscles with the following rankings in 2021:
The #Browns currently lead the NFL in both pass rush win rate (59.0%) AND pass block win rate (71.9%)
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) October 4, 2021
- Second in yards allowed (1,001)
- Fourth in points allowed (67)
After the 26-6 victory over the Chicago Bears, Garrett had this to say about Cleveland’s defense:
Garrett said #Browns defense “stepped up to the challenge.” pic.twitter.com/FzbDNIipXT
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) September 26, 2021
Browns fans hope that the team’s defense can “step up to the challenge” against the Chargers’ impressive offense in Week 5.
NEXT: 3 Browns Players Who's Stock Is Down After Vikings Win
