Browns’ defensive snap counts, stats, and notes: Week 9

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 9 game against the Denver Broncos.

• Olivier Vernon left Sunday’s game late with a knee injury, but there’s no update on his status yet. If he isn’t available, look how thin the depth looks at defensive end. Are you bumping Chad Thomas up to a starting-caliber player? The play of Vernon and Myles Garrett is sometimes taken for granted, just because the rest of the defense isn’t performing well.
• Even though it wouldn’t have counted due to a penalty, I do have to give a bit of a “come on!” to Garrett, who dropped an interception, looking like he’s never fielded a tipped pass before.

• Mack Wilson logged a sack on a play where both linebackers came on a blitz. Why didn’t the Browns bring the heat more on Brandon Allen, and trust their cornerbacks to cover a young receiving corp?
• Because Denver doesn’t run much 3-receiver sets, we actually saw the Browns in a 4-3 defense for half the game, as Adarius Taylor played 52% of the snaps.

• Denzel Ward was beat twice by Courtland Sutton on one of Denver’s touchdown drives. The second play was a touchdown in which Ward had position, but was late in attacking the ball, allowing Sutton to “Moss” him.

• One of the big stories during and after the game centered around Jermaine Whitehead. Aside from the Ravens game, he hasn’t been effective, despite playing the majority of snaps on defense. He missed two big tackles on Sunday as basically the last line of defense, and when you look at the stat sheet, he finished with “no stats registered.” The defense might as well have been playing with 10 players out there. I’d like to say that if Damarious Randall had been healthy, then maybe he prevents those plays from going as far, which in turn results in a different outcome of the game. But Randall has either been hurt or ineffective too for much of the season.