Cleveland Browns run defense proves they're the best in the NFL

Coming into the season, there was no secret that the Cleveland Browns defense was going to compete as one of the best in the NFL. With two Pro Bowlers in Denzel Ward and former DPOY Myles Garrett, manning the mix-and-match defense of rookies and veterans, the team has gelled together exceptionally well.

4,240. That’s the total amount of rushing yards that the three running backs the Browns have faced this season put up in 2024. After shutting down the Green Bay running game spearheaded by Josh Jacobs for exclusively 30 yards on 16 carries, those same three running backs have just amassed 93 yards against Cleveland. The Cleveland d-line continues to flex its muscles. When you have Myles Garrett on that line, those muscles seem to be much bigger.

Throughout the three games this year, the Browns have only given up 172 total rushing yards. That's good for 57.3 yards per game. Before this game, the Browns had ranked first in fewest rushing yards allowed per game. Cleveland kept playing that tune today, and the group on the defensive unit has been terrific, but who’s producing specifically?

Myles Garrett has continued his case for the best defensive player in the league, as he has accumulated four sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 16 total tackles. 

The rookies for the Browns have stepped up, and often for Cleveland as well, including Carson Schwesinger, Mason Graham, and undrafted free agent Adin Huntington. Schwesinger gets better as the season goes on, racking up 10 total tackles and a key sack, bringing his season totals to 23 total tackles. Mason Graham has been a force on the interior, recording a 43% pass rush win rate vs the Packers and a half sack. Huntington has also been a key contributor, adding four total tackles and a half sack on Sunday. 

It isn’t just the rookies, though; the veterans of the defense have been influential members. Grant Delpit, Devin Bush, and Maliek Collins combined for 21 tackles on Sunday, and how about Shelby Harris getting the game-changing field goal block? Harris seems to have a knack for field goal blocks, as the block on Sunday was his sixth career field goal block, the most by any player since 2014, per ESPN Research.

In the recent win against Green Bay, the Browns totaled six tackles for loss by six different members of the defense. Carson Schwesinger, Grant Delpit, Myles Garrett, Maliek Collins, Shelby Harris, and Alex Wright all had a tackle for loss on Sunday. 

“Our defense is playing at a high level,” head coach Kevin Stekanski told the media after the game on Sunday.

The offense for the Browns has not been pretty through the first three games this season, but how do you win football games? You stay in them. With the way the Browns' defense, and more specifically, their run defense, performs, Cleveland will be in every game.