The Browns had the kind of defensive day that can drive a coordinator crazy: a rough start, then a long stretch where the unit settled in and looked ready to slam the door.
Cleveland opened by getting carved up on the Titans’ first drive for a touchdown, then gave up another score after a turnover. After that, though, the defense settled into the sort of rhythm it had shown last week against the Ravens, holding Tennessee in check for three quarters before a fourth-down completion helped the Titans pull even.
Here’s how the snap counts broke down for Cleveland’s defense in Week 7 against Tennessee.
Up front, Maliek Collins led the defensive line with 46 snaps, playing 73 percent of the game. Fresh off his contract extension, Collins was also the Browns’ highest-graded defensive lineman by PFF with a 67.0.
He finished with one tackle and one tackle for loss. Mason Graham was next at 41 snaps in his return, but he didn’t show up on the stat sheet.
Jared Verse logged 40 snaps and had one assist, while Isaiah McGuire played 39 snaps and recorded one tackle and one assist. Sam Williams made his biggest impact in limited work, posting three tackles, one assist, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit on 26 snaps.
Sam Kamara saw 23 snaps and had two assists. Adin Huntington played 22 snaps and produced the unit’s lone sack, along with two tackles and a quarterback hit.
Derek Barnett was on the field for 21 snaps and had one assist.
Cleveland also dealt with missed tackles across the front, including Collins and Graham. Verse, meanwhile, was the Browns’ second-lowest graded defender on the day by PFF.
At linebacker, Carson Schwesinger and Quincy Williams both played every snap, each going 63 for 63. Schwesinger had four tackles and four assists for eight combined stops.
Williams was even busier, finishing with seven tackles, three assists and two tackles for loss. Winston Reid and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold each got three snaps.
In the secondary, Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell were both out there for 60 snaps, or 95 percent of the game. Ward came away with one tackle, one assist, an interception and three passes defended.
Campbell added one tackle, three assists and a forced fumble. Myles Harden played 40 snaps and posted two tackles, one assist, a tackle for loss and a pass defended.
Mekhi Blackmon saw three snaps and did not record a stat.
At safety, Ronnie Hickman was on the field for all 63 snaps and led the group with six tackles, four assists and a fumble recovery. Grant Delpit played 58 snaps, finishing with five tackles, one assist, two quarterback hits and a pass defended. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren logged 19 snaps and added three tackles and a tackle for loss.
In Other News...
Browns Fans Have A Real Beef With How The League Treated Steelers Week
The AFC North is suddenly looking every bit like the leagues most compelling division race, with the Browns and Steelers both sitting at 5-2 after Week 7 and Cincinnati right there after a win of its own. Clevelands next meeting with Pittsburgh had enough juice for the NFL to at least consider moving it into a prime-time spotlight, especially with both teams playing meaningful football this early in the season.
Instead, the league kept Eagles-Commanders in the Sunday night window, leaving Browns fans to wonder why a showdown with real division stakes did not get the extra stage. Cleveland still has plenty to play for, and Deshaun Watsons knack for late-game drives has been a major reason why, with five game-winning marches already this season. The issue now is not whether the Browns belong in the conversation, but whether the schedule makers saw the matchup the same way the standings do. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Set Up A Huge Steelers Showdown With First Place At Stake
The Browns Week 7 win over the Titans kept them in a familiar place for this point in October, sitting atop the AFC North at 5-2 and putting the division race squarely on their next game. Around them, the playoff picture in the AFC is already tightening, and the standings only sharpen the importance of every head-to-head matchup inside the division.
Pittsburgh now waits in Week 8 for a rematch that carries first place on the line, which is exactly the kind of late-October game that starts to tell you who is for real. The bigger league-wide backdrop is just as interesting, with both the AFC North and NFC North featuring all four teams above .500, a reminder that the division race in Cleveland is unfolding inside one of the NFLs deepest neighborhoods. [Read more 🡒]
Deshaun Watson May Have Finally Changed What Was Holding Browns Back
Deshaun Watsons most encouraging afternoon of the season may have been less about the box score than the way it looked while it was happening. In the Browns win over the Titans, Watson completed 70 percent of his passes on a season-high 36 attempts, and the bigger takeaway was the way he played within the offense. He looked more decisive, got rid of the ball faster and helped Cleveland find a rhythm that had been missing for much of the year.
The adjustment appears to have started after that rough first half in Week 6, when the offense seemed to hit a wall. Since then, Watson has leaned more on the passing game and less on his legs, a shift that has fit better under Todd Monken and made Clevelands attack look far more functional. The question now is whether this was a one-game reset or the start of a real change in how the Browns want to move forward. [Read more 🡒]