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Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns' Week 17 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Defensive Line
| Pos | Player | Plays | % | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Player | Plays | % | Stats |
| DL | Myles Garrett | 52 | 88% | 3 tackles (3 combined). 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QH, 1 FF. |
| DL | Carl Nassib | 44 | 75% | 1 tackle (1 combined). 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QH. |
| DL | Trevon Coley | 38 | 64% | 3 tackles (3 combined). 1 TFL. |
| DL | Danny Shelton | 36 | 61% | 3 assists (3 combined). |
| DL | Caleb Brantley | 24 | 41% | 1 tackle, 1 assist (2 combined). 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QH, 1 FR. |
| DL | Larry Ogunjobi | 13 | 22% | 1 tackle, 1 assist (2 combined). |
| DL | Nate Orchard | 10 | 17% | No stats registered. |
| DL | Lavar Edwards | 7 | 12% | No stats registered. |
- Myles Garrett finished his rookie season with a respectable day, and in back-to-back weeks, we’ve seen the potential for him to flash game-changing potential. Last week, it was a pick six that was negated. This week, it was a forced fumble that the Caleb Brantley recovered. Per PFF, Garrett generated two pressures in his 25 pass-rushing snaps.
- The finale saw fewer snaps for Nate Orchard and Larry Ogunjobi, but an uptick in work for Brantley. PFF gave credit to Trevon Coley for having a good game, generating one pressure in his 14 pass-rushing snaps and making 2 run stops.
Linebacker
| Pos | Player | Plays | % | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Player | Plays | % | Stats |
| LB | Joe Schobert | 59 | 100% | 9 tackles, 3 assists (12 combined). 1 pass defended. |
| LB | Christian Kirksey | 59 | 100% | 4 tackles, 3 assists (7 combined). |
| LB | James Burgess | 59 | 100% | 1 tackle, 1 assist (2 combined). |
| LB | B.J. Bello | 8 | 14% | No stats registered. |
- So close! Joe Schobert's 12 tackles in Week 17 allowed him to finish the year with 142 tackles, tied for second in the NFL. Preston Brown of the Buffalo Bills led the NFL with 144 tackles. Christian Kirksey fell off a tad, finishing tied for 4th in the NFL with 138 tackles.
- On the negative, PFF says that Schobert missed 3 tackles, giving him a team-high 18 missed tackles on the year.
- From a coverage perspective, the linebackers weren’t the problem on Sunday. PFF says that Schobert and Kirksey allowed 3 catches for 1 yard.
Cornerback
| Pos | Player | Plays | % | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Player | Plays | % | Stats |
| CB | Jason McCourty | 56 | 95% | 5 tackles, 2 assists (7 combined). 2 TFL. |
| CB | Jamar Taylor | 49 | 83% | 6 tackles (6 combined). |
| CB | Briean Boddy-Calhoun | 23 | 39% | 5 tackles (5 combined). |
| CB | Mike Jordan | 2 | 3% | No stats registered. |
- PFF was not kind to the Browns’ trio of cornerbacks, and it’s a position the team could look to upgrade this offseason:
Browns starting cornerbacks Jamar Taylor, Jason McCourty, and Briean Boddy-Calhoun were targeted 14 times on Sunday, allowing 13 catches for 151 yards, including 6-of-6 for 87 yards to rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster. All three earned below-average coverage grades of 50.1, 47.1 and 47.1 respectively.
- Mike Jordan only played 2 snaps, but I believe one of them was the early blown coverage for a wide open touchdown.
Safety
| Pos | Player | Plays | % | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Player | Plays | % | Stats |
| S | Jabrill Peppers | 50 | 85% | 4 tackles (4 combined). 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 pass defended. |
| S | Kai Nacua | 39 | 66% | 2 tackles, 2 assists (4 combined). |
| S | Justin Currie | 21 | 36% | 3 tackles (3 combined). 1 TFL. |
- Jabrill Peppers was initially credited with 2 sacks, but they were taken away because they were simply team sacks (fumbled snaps). He did a nice job making an interception, though, which at the time was the team’s first turnover forced in six games. Peppers wasn’t perfect closer to the line of scrimmage, but it gave us something exciting or fun to think about on defense. We should’ve had him do it all year.
- Justin Currie played 36% of the snaps.
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We will finish with more stats about how much opposing quarterbacks rip the Browns apart when they blitz, courtesy of PFF:
The Browns blitzed QB Landry Jones on 50% of his dropbacks, forcing pressure on 47% of them – but he didn’t seem to mind. Jones completed 12-of-13 passes when blitzed for 1 TD (QB rating of 125.6).
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