How the Browns Beat the Colts
The Cleveland Browns are currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak, but will face arguably the best defense in the league when they host the Indianapolis Colts.
Much like the Browns, there are criticisms about who the Colts have defeated this season thus far and their notable opening week loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nevertheless, a month into the season, the Colts and Browns look like contenders and this game is not only a fun matchup, but will help put into context just how good each team is right now.
When the Browns have the ball.
The single biggest matchup in this game is the interior of the Browns offensive line against DeForest Buckner. Both are playing at an incredibly high level this season and this is even more anticipated than the Browns against the Washington Football Activity Center.
Buckner is a phenomenal player that has helped to transform the Colts into one of the best defenses in the league. He also is ideally suited to exploit Baker Mayfield's biggest weakness. He not only generates interior pressure, which has been the biggest bugaboo for Mayfield as well as any number of other quarterbacks, but at 6'7" and with a knack for deflecting passes, even when he's not able to get to Mayfield, he's still a threat to break up the play.
While so much of the focus is on Wyatt Teller simply blocking Buckner, the Browns would be well served to attack him in different ways with their run blocking scheme. Their zone blocking scheme can do this with some double teams, but they can also utilize extra players like Andy Janovich and increasingly Harrison Bryant to operate almost like an assassin if they choose. In essence, they have their traditional zone blocking, but can line up a player specifically to hit Buckner, either by alignment or pulling them.
The other way to do this is to run counters and the wide trap they had success with against Washington's Football and Smile Time Factory. This would allow the Browns to down block Buckner from different angles with the hope of being able to catch him potentially off guard at points and wash him down and wear him out over the course of the game. By virtue of playing inside, it becomes easy to down block from either direction, trying to keep him guessing. The goal is to have Buckner's head on a swivel, thinking about what the Browns are going to do on any given snap, frustrating him over the course of the game.
The Colts are hoping that the sheer size and strength of Grover Stewart can force the Browns to double him. The problem is unless Stewart can play well enough to demand it, the Browns won't care. They'll focus their attention on Buckner.
Justin Houston will be matched up against Jedrick Wills. Houston has been wildly inconsistent the past couple years of his career, both with his effectiveness and his health. This year, he is playing well and has 3.5 sacks so far this season. Staying on schedule always helps Wills, but Houston isn't going to win with raw physical talent as much as he is with angles and effective hand usage.
The Colts are giving up the fewest points, yards and passing yards in the league. They are fourth in giving up rushing yards, but they are vulnerable against the run. Obviously, the health of Darius Leonard will play a role as he has been outstanding, but the Colts defense is largely geared toward stopping the pass. Their safeties are a big part of their run defense, but their linebackers are better suited to stop the pass than the run.
Xavier Rhodes is also an excellent run defender in addition to covering at a high level this season. The run blocking out wide could be interesting, whether it's tight ends or receivers trying to block Rhodes, who is almost 220 pounds.
The Browns need to be patient, which to their credit, they have been the past three weeks. They're going to need to run the ball to work to find vulnerabilities much as they did against Washington, because if they stick with it, they will find success with it.
Play-action passing becomes critical as well in an attempt to confuse the reads of their safeties as much as their linebackers. Because their safeties are a pretty big factor in their run defense, the threat of the run may create seams in their pass defense down the middle of the field.
The Browns have been getting Austin Hooper more involved each week as a pass catcher, but this could be a breakout game for him (he says as he has just about every week). David Njoku coming back and Harrison Bryant should also have opportunities to make plays for the same reason.
While Rhodes is playing really well this season, the Browns shouldn't be afraid to attack him, especially with Odell Beckham. Beckham is the type of player that can be a nightmare for Rhodes. He wants to get hands on control the play immediately. His quickness, flexibility are the biggest issues he has, which happen to be where Beckham is at his best.
Certainly, the Browns should go after Rock Ya-Sin and Kenny Moore, but they shouldn't be afraid to exploit the weaknesses Rhodes does have.
When the Colts have the ball.
The Colts don't have a particularly strong running attack, but the Browns need to have their defensive tackles healthy to ensure they can stop this part of their game, forcing Philip Rivers to beat them with his arm.
All of the pieces that are part of the Colts running attack are really talented. From their offensive line including players like Quenton Nelson, Anthony Costanzo and Ryan Kelly to their running back, rookie Jonathan Taylor, there's a sense that it's not a matter of if, but when they are going to take off and become a productive unit. The Browns need to make sure it doesn't happen this week.
Philip Rivers isn't at the peak of his powers, but he's still a dangerous passer. And the offense the Colts are running enables him to put up some impressive numbers. His touchdown to interception ratio (4:3) belies the fact he's completing 72.7 percent of his passes at 8.1 yards per attempt, which are both excellent.
The Browns want to be able to put him in obvious passing situations, so they can put pressure on him as much as possible. He's not mobile, but he doesn't take sacks either. When he feels pressure, he'll throw the ball away and go to the next play.
The Colts don't have an obvious weakness up front like the past few opponents have had, but expect Myles Garrett to spend most of his time lined up across from Braden Smith, the Colts right tackle. He's big and strong, but he's going to have trouble dealing with Garrett's speed off the edge.
Unfortunately for the Browns, the leading receiving threat for the Colts attacks the biggest weakness in the Browns defense. Mo-Allie Cox, their 6'5" 267 pound tight end is leading the team in yards and touchdowns. The Browns struggle to defend the middle of the field and Cox could have a big game if the Browns don't find a way to shore that area of the field.
From a sheer size standpoint, this could be an opportunity for the Browns to utilize Ronnie Harrison. He has seen the field in small doses, but he hasn't been a major part of the game plan. At 6'3" and around 215 pounds, he is the safety most equipped to deal with that kind of size, even if it's just having him follow Cox around the field and playing man.
Whether or not they go with Harrison, the Browns are likely going to have to utilize multiple defenders to try to limit Cox's impact. Having a defender underneath and one over the top, trying to jam him off the line or having him manned up with some light help over the top.
They simply cannot allow the Colts to freely attack down the middle of the field the way the Dallas Cowboys did. The Browns almost surrendered a 27 point lead and the vast majority of it was exploiting the linebackers and safeties.
The Browns are giving up 31.5 points per game and this is where most of it is happening. It's going to get them beat.
The other teams giving up that many points or more include the Houston Texans (31.5), the Detroit Lions (31.8), the New York Jets (32.8), the Atlanta Falcons (34.5) and the Cowboys (36.5). Their combined record is 2-18.
This is all before addressing T.Y. Hilton. An incredible combination of raw speed and quickness, he's always a home run threat. The Browns Cover-3 scheme is designed to avoid getting killed over the top. When the Cowboys passed the ball to the sideline, particularly going against Terrance Mitchell, he did a good job of preventing them from gaining additional yardage. It's not ideal to allow them to catch a ton of passes out there as Mitchell did, but they wanted to force them to keep running plays and potentially make a mistake.
The potential issue with Hilton is he's electric with the ball in his hands, so if the Browns aren't able to corral him quickly, he could break a big run and potentially score.
Keep the run contained. Force Rivers to beat you. Find a way to at least improve in the middle of the field, whether it's personnel, scheme or some form of religious ritual.
Special Teams
The Browns were notably better against the Cowboys. When Cody Parkey gets the kick past the line of scrimmage, he's been automatic, but the coverage units were decidedly improved against the Cowboys. That was even after losing KhaDarel Hodge in pregame due to a hamstring injury.
The Colts do have a good punt returning unit. Nyheim Hines has been providing them a notable advantage, averaging 10.4 yards per return on nine attempts, including a 21-yard return. If this is a low scoring game, which most of the Colts games have been, this matchup could be a difference maker.
