Browns’ offensive snap counts, stats, and notes: Week 18

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 18 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

• I am a believer in Baker Mayfield still, but given his injuries this year, it does make you wonder in hindsight whether the Browns could have made the postseason if Case Keenum was starting. Granted, one could point at Keenum’s bad decisions this week (fumble leading to a touchdown, and interception in the red zone) as reasons why it wouldn’t have worked, but overall, he played the role of game manager well enough again. In a lot of these close games that Cleveland fell short on, that’s all they really needed.

• Who had their preseason money on D’Ernest Johnson finishing the season with more rushing yards than Kareem Hunt? Johnson is a restricted free agent this coming offseason, and the type of player you could see the team slapping a second-round tender on.
• Cleveland wanted to rest Nick Chubb in the season finale, but still utilize him as the backup running back after the first couple of series. He ripped off one big run and finished the season 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards, but well behind Jonathan Taylor of the Colts.

• Anthony Schwartz dropped one quick slant that hit him right in the hands this week. He’ll need to undergo a bit of an offseason transformation to see if he’s worthy of a significant role in 2022.
• I was wondering where Rashard Higgins was; he was one of two active players who did not play, and he was ruled out in the second half with an illness.
• Jarvis Landry finished the season with 52 catches for 570 yards and 2 touchdowns. The team faces a tough decision with him; that production is not worth the type of contract he’s getting, but he’s also by far their most reliable receiver still on a team that really needs to upgrade the position.
• Demetric Felton caught his second touchdown of the season. One of the more frustrating things looking back in 2022 is seeing how much this team struggled at wide receiver, and yet the potential of Felton wasn’t utilized more on those quick screen type of plays. I know he had a few drops too, but you wanted more out of him.

• It was a relatively quiet day for the tight ends. Austin Hooper led the group in snaps, but did not record a catch. He finished the season with 38 catches for 345 yards and 3 touchdowns. One might say that it’s worth considering kicking him to the curb and re-signing David Njoku instead, but looking at the dead cap space the team would absorb, it’s basically pointless to cut Hooper.
• Harrison Bryant nearly caught another touchdown pass, but mis-timed or stumbled on his jump in the end zone.

• The Browns’ offensive line graded very well against the Bengals. Joel Bitonio (90.7), James Hudson (90.0), Jedrick Wills (84.9), and Wyatt Teller (79.1) were four of the team’s top-5 graded players on Sunday (Jadeveon Clowney was the other player in the Top 5). However, Cincinnati was playing with some reserves in there.
• Per PFF, “Keenum averaged 2.80 seconds to throw, and the offensive line was responsible for just two pressures all game, pending review.”Finalize