The Browns’ run game is getting squeezed from more than one direction, and the offensive line isn’t the only place to look.
Cleveland enters its Week 3 home opener at 1-1, and there’s plenty to like about the early returns from the team’s young talent. But second-year running back Quinshon Judkins has not been one of the bright spots so far.
Through two games, he’s logged 24 carries for 54 yards, a rough 2.3 yards per carry. Even more eye-catching: Deshaun Watson has outrushed him in both games, which has already started to set off alarms.
It’s easy to point the finger in one direction. Some will blame Judkins.
Others will zero in on the rebuilt offensive line and its struggles to create room in the run game. The reality, though, looks more layered than that.
Cleveland’s passing game has been so compressed through two weeks that it may be helping make the rushing attack even easier to contain.
That showed up clearly in the Browns’ Week 2 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game in which Watson actually played well. He finished 24-of-30 for 238 yards and two touchdowns.
On paper, that’s a solid day. But the details tell the real story.
Nine of Watson’s throws went to targets behind the line of scrimmage, and nine more were aimed within 5 yards of it. He attempted only one pass more than 20 yards downfield, and it fell incomplete.
He also had just six throws beyond 10 yards from the line of scrimmage. His average depth of target was 3.6 yards.
That kind of offense is quick, short, and heavily dependent on playmakers turning routine throws into extra yardage after the catch. Cleveland has the personnel to do that, but the tradeoff is obvious: defenses don’t have to back up. They can crowd the line, sit on the underneath game, and make life tougher for the run.
So yes, the Browns’ offensive line has to do a better job opening lanes. But the run game could also use help from the passing game. If Watson and company can’t stretch the field, it’s going to stay hard to run the ball.
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Browns May Have Found The Best Way To Unlock Denzel Boston
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One possible clue may be sitting with Carolina and Tetairoa McMillan, a second-year receiver whose profile looks strikingly similar to Bostons. The comparison is not just about body type, but about how a coaching staff can use those traits to create mismatches and open up the passing game, which is why the Browns could be studying the Panthers approach closely as they look for the cleanest way to unlock Bostons skill set. [Read more 🡒]