Chargers Defense Could Be Welcome Sight for Browns Offense
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The game between the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Chargers will feature a defense that is underachieving relative to sky-high expectations entering the season in no small part because their defense is unable to avoid defensive breakdowns that yield chunk plays. Of course I'm referring to the Chargers.
Defensively, the Browns and Chargers are eerily similar. The Chargers base look features an odd front while the Browns run an even front, but they have many of the same goals. Focus the bulk of resources to stop the pass, investing heavily on pass rushers and defensive backs with plenty of speed on the field, then try to stop the run with numbers.
Both the Browns and Chargers employ defenses designed to play with a lead. The Browns have been able to generate leads only to see their defense surrender big plays due to coverage busts the first two weeks. The Chargers have struggled to generate points on offense, which has magnified the issues on defense.
The Chargers are giving up 5.4 yards per carry, which is welcome news to the Browns. The only team giving up more is the Detroit Lions at 5.6. A major reason for that is the Chargers have given up a 50+ yard run in each of their last three games. Clyde Edwards-Helaire of the Kansas City Chiefs broke a 52-yard run that set up the game-sealing field goal. James Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars had a 50-yard touchdown run and then Dameon Pierce of the Houston Texans had a 75-yard touchdown run this past week.
Four games into the season, the combination of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt have seven explosive runs. Chubb has five of them and at least one in every game. Chubb is familiar with the Chargers defense as he broke a 52-yard run as part of a 161-yard performance last year on the road. Even if the Chargers load up the box and dare Jacoby Brissett to beat them as every other opponent has this season, it stands to reason that Chubb will have his opportunities to crease a big run.
As they have all year, expect the Browns to try to use formations and shifts to create advantages when it comes to angles, numbers and boundary to give their backs every opportunity to cause the Chargers to misalign or pick on weak links in their run defense.
The Chargers have big bodies up front in their base look. Jerry Tillery listed at 6'6" 295 pounds is the smallest of their three defensive linemen. The Browns may opt to simply go for the perimeter, in particular going after Chris Rumph, Kyle Van Noy, basically anyone not named Khalil Mack. The Browns have excelled in their pin and pull scheme as Jedrick Wills has come on the last few games with his ability to wrap all the way around and get to a second level defender.
If Tillery and Sebastian Joseph-Day try to limit the perimeter game, it should allow Chubb to cut up inside and bet that he can beat their inside linebackers. Regardless, it shouldn't be a surprise to see the Browns load up with size and try to pound on a Chargers defense that doesn't have offer much size on the edges
The other option for the Browns is to spread the Chargers out and force them to play smaller. Between Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Kareem Hunt and their tight ends, the Browns can put a lot of size on the field and can try to bully their smaller defensive backs in the running game, but also in their passing game.
The potential stumbling block for the Browns is that even though the Chargers pass defense is middle of the road in terms of yielding pass yardage just as the Browns are, they have generated five interceptions on the season. Their off man and zone coverages allow opportunities for players to attack downhill and make plays on the ball.
Star safety Derwin James has not recorded a turnover as of yet because teams want to identify where he is on every single play in an effort to avoid having him singlehandedly beat them. At times, that can result in either not seeing or misjudging where other defenders are, allowing them to cause turnovers.
Jacoby Brissett has thrown two interceptions this season. Both came on attempted game-winning drives. The usually overly cautious journeyman was too aggressive and threw passes into coverage that ended drives and effectively those games So even as Brissett has been anything but a risk taker in his tenure as quarterback for the Browns, at times playing too conservative, he has to avoid getting fooled by the coverage and turning over the ball.
The key will be how the Chargers defend Amari Cooper. A.J. Terrell did a tremendous job for the Atlanta Falcons and was able to man him up the entire game. The coaching staff may warrant criticism for not doing more to scheme Cooper open to be a bigger factor in the game, but the Chargers probably won't have the same luxury. This game could see Cooper return to the form he had in the first three games when he consistently was able to get open.
J.C. Jackson was a prized offseason acquisition, but has not played particularly well in his first month with the team. Jackson had to have ankle surgery right before the season and the perhaps a lack of recovery time could be causing some of his struggles. Last year, Jackson shut down Donovan Peoples-Jones when the Browns traveled to New England.
Cooper is better than DPJ which helps, but if Jackson is also still dealing with lingering issues with his ankle, that could be a favorable matchup for the Browns. If Cooper is up against Asante Samuel on the other side or Bryce Callahan in the slot, he has a notable size advantage.
That could allow the Browns to once find their best formula for offensive success. Chubb being effective on the ground while the defense lacks the personnel or numbers to stop Cooper. lest we forget David Njoku, who had the most dominant receiving performance of his career against the Chargers last season. Njoku caught seven passes on seven targets for 149 yards, including a deep cross catch and run that went for a 71 yards and a touchdown.
The Chargers may be forced to use James to cover Njoku given their inability to stop him last year. Ideally, they would like to be able to cover him with a combination of Drue Tranquill and Nasir Adderley and that might be Plan A, but if Njoku creates plays early, they may have to switch it to James. If James has to consistently account for Njoku, that makes him more predictable and makes the offense's job that much easier to call plays that consistently put Brissett in position to succeed.
So much could boil down to how the Browns perform in the red zone. The Browns are one of the most efficient offenses in the league and they score on a high percentage of their possessions, but they are just 15th in the league in red zone percentage. Tied with the Chargers oddly enough, the Browns have scored touchdowns on just 56.25 percent of their opportunities. It illustrates how explosive the Browns can be on offense, but being unable to capitalize in the red zone cost them the game against the Atlanta Falcons and if they are unable to remedy the situation, could prove costly against the Chargers.
Even without their franchise defensive end Joey Bosa, who continues to recover from groin surgery, the Chargers defense has talent. The problem is that just like their opponent, they have weaknesses that can be exploited. Should the Browns find similar offensive success as they did last year, they could get their biggest victory of the year so far.
