Browns’ offensive snap counts, stats, and PFF notes: Week 5

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns' Week 5 game against the New York Jets.

Notes:

• It’s tough to talk about the quarterback position for Cleveland. If we’re comparing the two quarterbacks right now, there is really no doubt that Kevin Hogan is astronomically better for this offense than DeShone Kizer is. We know how slow Kizer takes to throw the football, but it’s not until you see how quickly Hogan gets rid of the ball in comparison that you realize just how slow Kizer is to react.
• But the reason the change at quarterback is questionable is because of the principle of the whole thing. Hue Jackson chose the rookie to be his starter with a ride-or-die mentality. Even last week, when Kizer was pulled in the fourth quarter, Jackson immediately said Kizer was still the starter. After this week’s game, he said he needs to see the tape. If that was his answer, then he basically spelled out that Hogan will start against the Houston Texans.
• I’m interested in seeing what Hogan can do. Just because there was a previous principle in place, and because Kizer is a second-round rookie we were excited about, doesn’t mean we should laugh off Hogan as having no shot at some long-term success. How will he do when a defense has a full week to prepare for him, though? As a reserve, he seems to be leading a scoring drive more times than not.

Notes:

• Isaiah Crowell had his most carries on the season — 16 of them for 60 yards. He really had a hot hand going near the beginning of the second quarter with runs of 10 and then 16 yards. But then two penalties put Cleveland in a 1st-and-25 situation, and they later missed a 52-yard field goal. The option pitch near the beginning of the game would’ve been a walk-in touchdown for Crowell had DeShone Kizer pitched the ball closer to his body.
• Another solid day for Duke Johnson on his limited touches, including some great moves on a screen pass late in the game to even give Cleveland a shot at trying a comeback. He also made nice moves on an earlier screen pass that was wiped away due to a penalty.
• Per PFF, Johnson now has an 89.2 receiving grade on the year, which is tops among running backs. He also hasn’t allowed a single pressure in pass protection.

Notes:

• What a surprise -- Kenny Britt is out of the rotation, and we actually see some competency at the receiver position. Kasen Williams looked like a nice physical possession receiver, and he also had a very acrobatic catch near the sideline taken away because his elbow hit out of bounds.
• Making his NFL debut, Bryce Treggs had 2 catches for 28 yards and was targeted 6 times. Not a good sign for the future of Sammie Coates, who had an empty stat sheet and saw fewer reps than a guy who just entered the system this week. Coates could be cut soon in favor of another receiver.

Notes:

• This was a breakout day for David Njoku, who logged his third touchdown catch of the season on a diving one-handed grab. He also made a diving catch over the middle later on to extend a drive, with both connections coming from Kevin Hogan. I don’t know what the idea was on the end around that Njoku had; why does the team keep force-feeding him the ball on plays where he’s stationary at the line of scrimmage?
• Randall Telfer saw a little uptick in his snaps this week.

Notes:

• The Browns gave up 1 sacks and 6 quarterback hits, with 4 of those quarterback hits coming via former Browns LB Demario Davis.
• PFF credited the Browns’ offensive line for an excellent day in pass protection. Specifically, they highlighted the overall grades for OG Joel Bitonio (82.6), LT Joe Thomas (80.3), and OG Kevin Zeitler (79.7), as none of them allowed a single pressure. They panned Cleveland for their run blocking on the day, though, despite the overall success they had on the ground.
• For the first time this season, the Browns used a sixth offensive lineman as Austin Reiter came in for 4 plays.