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Browns’ defensive snap counts, stats, and notes: Week 5

The defense couldn’t contain Justin Herbert, with the safeties blowing too many coverages.

Cleveland Browns v Los Angeles Chargers Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 5 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Defensive Line

Pos Player Plays % Stats
Pos Player Plays % Stats
DL Myles Garrett 60 80% 2 tackles (2 combined). 1 sack, 1 TFL, 3 QH, 1 pass defended.
DL Malik Jackson 54 72% 1 assist (1 combined). 1 QH.
DL Malik McDowell 50 67% 1 tackle (1 combined). 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QH, 1 FR.
DL Takk McKinley 43 57% 1 tackle (1 combined). 1 QH.
DL Joe Jackson 34 45% 2 tackles (2 combined).
DL Jordan Elliott 24 32% 1 assist (1 combined).
DL Andrew Billings 21 28% 1 assist (1 combined).
DL Ifeadi Odenigbo 16 21% 1 QH.
  • Myles Garrett was banged up a bit heading into this game, but finished with six pressures, a sack, and the team’s highest pass-rushing grade from PFF (80.5). He also defended one pass. On a two-point conversion, he got tripped up and fell down, allowing a quick connection to the tight end for the conversion.
  • Malik McDowell registered a sack and a fumble recovery.
  • With Jadeveon Clowney out, a mix of Takk McKinley and Joe Jackson took most of his replacement reps.
  • Andrew Billings saw a bit of an increased workload this week, perhaps due to McDowell coming in and out of the game to injury.

Linebacker

Pos Player Plays % Stats
Pos Player Plays % Stats
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah 68 91% 3 tackles, 1 assist (4 combined). 1 FF.
LB Anthony Walker 55 73% 2 tackles, 4 assists (6 combined).
LB Sione Takitaki 17 23% 1 tackle, 2 assists (3 combined). 1 QH.
LB Mack Wilson 5 7% No stats registered.
LB Malcolm Smith 3 4% 1 tackle (1 combined).
  • I wonder if anyone else realized, just from watching the game, that Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah played in 91% of the snaps? That’s a career high for him, although he was taken to the hospital after the game with a throat contusion. This poor guy and his unconventional injuries (remember he had a weight fall on his head in training camp).
  • PFF says that JOK “played 39 coverage snaps and allowed two receptions for 12 yards, but neither reception led to a first down or touchdown.”
  • Anthony Walker returned from IR and immediately became a starter again, taking almost all of Malcolm Smith’s reps away. It was kind of frustrating to see that, because Smith seemed to be playing well and in a groove over these past two games, while Walker has seemed very blah in his two outings.

Cornerback

Pos Player Plays % Stats
Pos Player Plays % Stats
CB A.J. Green 69 92% 4 tackles, 1 assist (5 combined). 2 passes defended.
CB Greedy Williams 61 83% 7 tackles, 3 assists (10 combined). 1 pass defended, 1 FF.
CB Troy Hill 55 73% 4 tackles, 1 assist (5 combined). 1 TFL.
CB Denzel Ward 9 12% 1 tackle (1 combined).
  • What a mess the cornerback situation was, due to injury. Greg Newsome was already out, and then Greedy Williams got dinged up early on. Williams returned, but then Denzel Ward left with his nagging neck injury and did not return. By the end of the game, the word was that Williams, Troy Hill, and M.J. Stewart (listed at safety) were also hurt.
  • Williams impressed me for the second week in a row. He was the team’s leading tackler, an aspect that is nice to see. He also forced a fumble. Per PFF, Williams “received the highest coverage grade at 82.4 despite allowing seven receptions for 43 yards.”
  • PFF chalked A.J. Green up to allowing 4 catches for 111 yards and 1 touchdown. I don’t know if they’re counting that first long blown coverage play on him, but I thought that mistake was on safety Grant Delpit, not Green. It sounds silly to say cornerbacks played well when your team allows 47 points, but I also thought Green did a solid job on the day.

Safety

Pos Player Plays % Stats
Pos Player Plays % Stats
S John Johnson 75 100% 4 tackles (4 combined).
S Ronnie Harrison 75 100% 2 assists (2 combined). 1 pass defended.
S Grant Delpit 23 31% No stats registered.
S M.J. Stewart 7 9% No stats registered.
  • The safety play was disastrous this week. They are supposed to be preventing teams from going over the top, and yet they allowed two wide open touchdown passes to Mike Williams off of blown coverages. The first one appeared to be on Grant Delpit, with the second one on Ronnie Harrison, and then John Johnson III being frustrated both times that his counterparts left their responsibility.
  • Speaking of Johnson, though, he had yet another very underwhelming performance. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods needs to figure something out to get Johnson more in sync to have an impact defensively.