Browns Defense of to Great Start

By John Turney  

Myles Garrett

The past weekend the Cleveland Browns upped their season record to 3-2 by defeating the San Francisco 49ers 19-17 and did so on the strength of what is showing to be one of the better defenses we've seen for a while.

The 49ers could only muster 215 total yards -- 107 -- passing which is the third-lowest total in the Kyle Shanahan era. Actually, it's second worst since last year's NFC Championship game is a fluke with the 49ers playing essentially without a quarterback.

Regardless, the Browns shut down a very good offense. Sure, Debo Samual was out and there were a couple of other nicked-up players but what happened was pretty clear -- the Browns defense did what they had been doing all season -- not allowing teams to consistently move the ball.

The win was the fifth consecutive game that the Browns' defense has allowed fewer than 300 yards and has yet to give up more than 200 yards through the air in any game this season.

What is this 1970?

Nope, -- checks calendar -- it's 2023 in a pass-happy era, one that defenses have less chance for success than ever before.

Offensive linemen rarely get called for holding pass rushers and enjoy a liberal interpretation of the false start rules. Receivers rarely get flagged for pushing a defender off to get just a little more room to make a catch and if a defender breaths wrong on someone it's holding, or worse, defensive pass interference.

Receivers and quarterbacks are (rightly) protected so there is no battle of attrition or intimidation tactics defenses in previous eras could employ. The ones reflected in the Al Davis statement, "The quarterback must go down and he must go down hard."

Why did the quarterback have to go down hard?

Because defenses wanted to rattle the quarterback and yes, knock the starter out of the game. Hurt him seriously? No. They were not barbarians it's just that they would rather face the backup passer than the starter or at the very least make the starter feel some discomfort by giving him legal, hard, but legal hits.

The same philosophy went for receivers who ran routes across the middle -- it could be a dangerous place. "Sure, you can run into the middle Mr. Split End but there will be a price to be paid," said Mr. Safety back in the day.

With those tactics long gone what the Browns have done defensively so far this season is that much more remarkable.

What have they done you ask?

Well, after five games played, since the AFL and NFL merged in 1970 only two teams -- the 1970 Minnesota Vikings and the 1971 Baltimore Colts -- have allowed fewer total yards than the 2023 Browns.

Two.

What about the Steel Curtain? The 1985 Bears? The 2000 Ravens?

No, no and no.

Obviously, those and plenty of other defenses all finished strong -- and that is the challenge for the Browns -- they have a lot yet to prove with twelve more games to go.

Clearly, yards allowed is not the only metric to look at when comparing defenses -- there are plenty of other traditional statistics as well as modern metrics to consider but you also cannot ignore the Browns allowing just 1,002 yards in five weeks.

That is special.

Also, they've not allowed more than 300 yards in a game so far and that streak of five is the longest for a Browns defense since Bill Belichick's 1994 squad.

Without a doubt, they are in rarefied air being mentioned with the '71 Colts and '70 Vikings.

What did those teams accomplish?

Most know that the Purple Gang was one of the greatest defenses of all time and they were at their peak in 1970. In the first five games, they allowed 945 yards (189.0 per game).

That Vikings defense featured All-Pro/Pro Bowl/All-NFC players Alan Page, Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, Paul Krause and Karl Kassulke. 

Alan Page, Jim Marshall, Carl Eller and Gary Larsen

Fewer younger fans remember the 1971 Colts defense. They allowed just 836 yards in the first five weeks.

They played their famed roll Cover-3 zone coverage to perfection led by Pro Bowl middle linebacker Mike Curtis who called the signals and included All-Pros defensive end Bubba Smith (who would move to defensive tackle in some passing downs), outside linebacker Ted Hendricks and free safety Rick Volk.

They also had a Pro Bowl strong safety in Jerry Logan and a cornerback (Charlie Stukes) who picked off eight passes. It was a terrific defense that is largely forgotten.

Rick Volk, Mike Curtis and Jim Bailey, Bubba Smith

Who were the other notable teams that got off to great defensive starts?

Here are the top ten defenses after the first five weeks, since 1970:

1. Baltimore, 1971—836 yards allowed

2. Minnesota, 1970—945

3. Cleveland, 2023— 1,002

4. Washington, 1974—1,005

5. Buffalo, 1974—1,032

6. Houston, 1976—1,041

7. New Orleans, 1991—1,053

8. Dallas, 1977—1,054

        Chicago, 1984—1,054

10. New York Giants, 2009—1,072

Of those ten Baltimore, Minnesota, New Orleans, Dallas and Chicago maintained their number-one status and finished first in the NFL in total defense at year's end and Washington finished second. The other three fell to fifth or lower.

Which will the Browns be?

Can defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's aggressive defense keep up the pace? Can edge rusher Myles Garrett, interior beast Dalvin Tomlinson and second and third-level guys like Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Denzell Ward, Juan Thornhill and the rest keep up their historic pace?

Schwartz likes his defensive linemen to get penetration -- which is effective against zone runs (ask Kyle Shanahan) -- rather than over-focus on reading what the offense is doing. They don't play the gap-and-a-half technique that so many of the Fangio-based defenses around the NFL -- which have spread rapidly in the last few years.

In some ways the style the Browns are playing is a throwback to defenses from an earlier era, the kind George Allen coached. You can throw in Floyd Peters' style and a few as well. 

Those coaches preached four guys getting to the passer, playing the run on the way, and covering with seven using a lot of man coverage (currently, the Browns play more man coverage than anyone).

Allen and Peters didn't have their "rushmen" reading run keys reading and reacting to the run like so many of the 3-4 defenses of yesteryear. 

Jim Schwartz

We'll see if a defense like Schwartz's -- that takes a page from styles of defenses from a previous era and adjusts it for today -- can stay on pace with those defenses,  especially with everything offenses can throw at them these days.

Regardless, in this era of the rules favoring offenses, it's fun to see a team that can compare to a couple of the best defenses the NFL's deadball era had to offer when currently the odds are so stacked in the favor of offenses.

It's impressive. If it lasts.