The Cleveland Browns have spent most of this season looking like a defense that can control a game - just not right away.
That’s the strange part. Mike Rutenberg’s unit has been excellent in stretches, and the numbers back it up.
But the opening quarter keeps dragging it down. Through that first frame, the Browns are giving up 8.1 points per game, which ranks 32nd, along with 103.6 yards per game, 31st, and 6.7 yards per play, also 32nd.
Then the script flips.
In the second quarter, Cleveland turns into a different defense entirely. The Browns allow just 4.0 points per game, good for third, and 65.9 yards per game, also third, while the 3.8 yards per play allowed leads the league. The third and fourth quarters have been solid as well, with the Browns allowing 3.8 points per game in the third and 5.8 in the fourth.
That contrast says plenty about where this defense stands. It’s good.
Really good. But there’s another gear available if the Browns can stop getting punched in the mouth early.
That’s what makes the first-quarter problem so glaring. A defense with this much talent should not be getting out of the gate this slowly, especially with a group that includes Denzel Ward, Carson Schwesinger, Tyson Campbell, Maliek Collins, Mason Graham, Grant Delpit, and Jared Verse. There’s too much ability on the roster for the opening 15 minutes to be such a liability.
Rutenberg has to wear some of it, too. Whatever is happening in those early-game plans - whether they’re not being executed, too predictable, or just not working - it’s costing the Browns.
And that’s happening with veterans on the field, not just a young group learning on the fly. Ward, Campbell, Collins, and Delpit are all part of that mix.
The encouraging part is that the rest of the defense has already shown what it can be. The Browns have been a legitimate force, and their defense is clearly one of the team’s strengths and one of its clearest routes to the playoffs.
If the first-quarter issues get cleaned up, this group starts to look like something more than just very good. It starts to look elite.
And with Shedeur Sanders set to make his first start in Week 9 in place of the injured Deshaun Watson, the offense may finally begin to answer some questions too. Whether that unit can even be middle of the pack in 2026 is still up in the air. Hope is there, but so is caution.
For now, the Browns’ defense has made its case. Fix the first quarter, and it could be the kind of unit that changes the conversation in 2026.
In Other News...
Browns Chaos Took Another Strange Turn In A Brutal Loss
The Browns latest week of chaos had an odd pregame twist before the loss to the Saints, when head coach Todd Monken was recorded laughing about quarterback Shedeur Sanders asking for plays that were not in the teams playbook. It was the kind of detail that fit the strange, uneasy feel around Cleveland right now, where even the buildup to a close game seemed to carry its own subplot.
Sanders then helped fuel the afternoons biggest swing anyway, uncorking a 64-yard touchdown to rookie wide receiver KC Concepion in the fourth quarter to briefly put Cleveland in front. But the Browns could not finish the job, and after choosing to go for two instead of settling for a tie, they wound up losing in overtime in a game that only deepened the sense that nothing around this team comes easily. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Suddenly Have A QB Decision Fans May Not Like
Deshaun Watsons concussion protocol absence in Week 9 opened the door for Shedeur Sanders, and the rookie made the most of it with a strong start in his first extended look. For a Browns team trying to steady itself, the timing was notable: the offense looked different with Sanders at the controls, and the performance gave the coaching staff something it did not necessarily expect to have to consider this late in the season.
Now Cleveland has a quarterback choice that could shape the next stretch of the year. Watson has put up strong numbers this season and remains the teams highest-paid player, which makes a return to the lineup the most likely outcome once he is healthy. Still, Sanders showing created a real argument for keeping the hot hand, and that tension is exactly what makes this situation worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Shedeur Sanders Just Reopened The Browns Biggest Debate
Shedeur Sanders gave the Browns something they have been chasing all season: a reason to keep the quarterback conversation alive. In his recent start, Sanders looked more settled as the game went on and helped spark Cleveland with several significant second-half plays, giving the offense a different kind of energy than it has shown at other points this year. For a team still trying to define its identity under center, that mattered almost as much as the result itself.
Deshaun Watson remains part of the equation after leading the Browns on multiple game-winning drives earlier in the season, which is why this is no simple handoff from one passer to the next. Cleveland now has a real decision to make about who should take the next snap as the starter, and Sanders' latest outing only sharpened the debate. The Browns wanted clarity, but the performance may have made the path forward even more complicated. [Read more 🡒]