Last year, the Cleveland Browns relied on a historically good defense to help the team finish in the playoffs for the second time in the past four seasons.
Cleveland allowed the fewest yards overall and the fewest passing yards to propel the Browns to a surprise postseason berth.
This year’s defense has been anything but special for the Browns.
Cleveland ranks in the middle of the pack in nearly every major statistical category except one – the turnover battle.
The Browns are among the league’s worst at that metric, having forced just five turnovers this season with four of those changes in possession coming from fumble recoveries.
Analyst Chris Malumphy believes that’s part of why the Browns defense has struggled this season.
On X, Malumphy shared one wild stat that showed precisely why the Browns defense has performed so poorly this season.
In combination with the defense allowing 12 touchdown passes while intercepting just one pass (the worst ratio in the league), it is remarkable that the #Browns have won twice. For a team that had deep playoff aspirations to be playing no better than the #Panthers is …
— Chris Malumphy (@DraftHistory) November 8, 2024
Cleveland has turned the ball over 12 times, or seven more instances than their opponents through the team’s first nine games.
The Browns forced 28 turnovers last season, including 18 such takeaways off interceptions.
Part of this downward trend is due to the defensive backfield sustaining multiple injuries this season, keeping those players or the replacement defenders from being as explosive this season.
NEXT: PFF Reveals Browns' Highest-Graded Player This Season
