Browns’ offensive snap counts, stats, and PFF notes: Week 3

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns' Week 3 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Notes:

• This was a much better effort by QB DeShone Kizer than his Week 2 performance, but that was to be expected against a poor Colts pass defense. Completing less than 50% of his passes wasn’t all his fault, as there were up to eight dropped passes that the CBS telecast kept track of.
• The killers for Kizer were that for every on-target pass he had that was dropped, he seemed to have just as many passes that ended up off-target and behind receivers. One of them led to another red zone interception, when he threw way behind WR Kasen Williams in the third quarter (although that may have been a miscommunication). The other was an open post route that ended up behind WR Kenny Britt at the end of the third quarter.
• One thing I loved from Kizer this week was that he actually took off a lot. His 7-carry, 44-yard effort on the ground is a huge asset to his game that he needs to be leveraging. His scrambling ability also led to another 15-yard penalty by the defense after a late hit.
• Per PFF, Kizer was pressured on 19-of-52 dropbacks (36.5%), and was 4-of-15 for 78 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, and a 43.2 QB rating on those plays. His production when holding on to the ball for 2.5 seconds remains poor, as he had a 21.8 QB rating on those plays.

Notes:

• This had to be a frustrating day for Isaiah Crowell again. Cleveland got some traction running the ball in the first half, when he had 10 carries for 40 yards. He had 2 carries for 4 yards in the second half. One might argue that Cleveland was down by too many scores. That was true when it was a three-possession game in the fourth quarter. But, on the two drives in which Kizer threw interceptions in the third quarter, Cleveland was only down two possessions and could’ve used the balance.
• Duke Johnson was fantastic, showing off his versatility and his ability to deliver a stiff arm or make defenders miss in the open field. These guys still complement each other well; we just need Hue Jackson to find a way to pound away more often.
• PFF says Johnson had the best elusive rating among running backs in Week 3, forcing 4 missed tackles and averaging 8.67 yards after contact. He is also the best-rated receiving back in the NFL.

Notes:

• This was definitely a mixed bag type of day for WR Kenny Britt. He was targeted 10 times, and came away with 3 catches and a touchdown. But there were also 2 passes that were dropped, and another that deflected off his hands for an interception. It’s hard to be super-critical of Britt on the interception, but I always say that I expect NFL-level receivers to be able to make some catches that are thrown behind them.
• Awful performances for WR Ricardo Louis and WR Rashard Higgins. All the positive press the two had built up went away in one felt swoop. PFF agreed with me, grading Louis (36.4) and Higgins (34.7) very low. Louis was the recipient of all of WR Corey Coleman’s lost playing time, and he blew it, quite frankly.
• When you look at the incredible one-handed catch by WR Jordan Leslie at the end of the first half, that is the only thing that kept Cleveland in the game. For him not to receive a single target the rest of the game, knowing all of the other receivers’ issues, was a damn shame.

Notes:

• It felt like TE Seth DeValve had a bigger day than he did, until you realize that he had 25- and 17-yard receptions wiped away by offensive pass interference penalties.
• One of Cleveland’s favorable match-ups this week should’ve been against the Colts’ inside linebackers. While they capitalized on them with RB Duke Johnson, I shook my head at the lack of plays for TE David Njoku. He did catch a touchdown near the goal line, giving him the team-lead in receiving touchdowns.

Notes:

• The Browns gave up 1 sack and 9 quarterback hits. Overall, they gave QB DeShone Kizer plenty of time to succeed.
• OL Kevin Zeitler caught one pass (off of a deflection) for a loss of four yards. RT Shon Coleman allowed 7 pressures, grading out as his worst performance with a 57.5.
• Another banner day for LT Joe Thomas: