The Cleveland Browns are 4-2 heading into Week 7, and the biggest reason is impossible to miss: this defense has been carrying the load.
Cleveland has climbed to the top of the AFC North behind a mix of stingy defense, special teams helping in key moments - especially in the kicking game - and timely contributions from Deshaun Watson and the offense. But the tone of this start has been set by the defense, plain and simple.
The numbers back that up. The Browns are fifth in scoring defense, eighth in pass defense, tied for second in sacks, and fourth in defensive success rate, according to SumerSports.
Carson Schwesinger has been right in the middle of it. In Cleveland’s win over the Baltimore Ravens, he forced a massive fumble by Derrick Henry, and the Browns turned the short field into a game-tying touchdown. Schwesinger finished with 13 combined tackles while playing through a sprained ankle, and the takeaway was his second straight week forcing a fumble.
After the win, Schwesinger pointed to the Browns’ ongoing emphasis on takeaways.
"We talk about the ball's oxygen and that's something that was big in the offseason for me and trying to find ways to get the ball out in the run game," the linebacker said. "So I was able to get one of those, and we were able to obviously get on top of it and get the ball and put the offense in a good position to score and really be able to get the momentum going."
That takeaway push still has room to grow. Through six games, Cleveland is tied for 18th in takeaways, even though the defense has flashed plenty of playmaking ability. The Browns forced four fumbles in their Week 5 loss at the New York Jets, and Schwesinger’s strip of Henry in the win over Baltimore gave the unit another timely spark.
If this group is going to keep winning the way it is built to win, those turnovers matter. Schwesinger, Quincy Williams - who forced three fumbles by himself against the Jets - Denzel Ward and the rest of the defense have to keep putting the offense in favorable spots. When the Browns do that, they give themselves a real chance.
That showed up against Baltimore. Cleveland used the turnover to even the score, then got clutch plays late from Watson and Jerry Jeudy to close it out.
Watson’s day was uneven overall, but he delivered when it counted. Andre Szmyt did the same, bouncing back from a missed kick earlier in the fourth quarter to nail the game-winning field goal as time expired.
For all the bumps on offense, the Browns’ defense has earned every bit of the attention it’s getting. Schwesinger and the group around him have kept battling, and that toughness has been the defining feature of Cleveland’s start.
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