As the Browns head into their Week 5 bye Week, the biggest thing Kevin Stefanski needs to fix is Deshaun Watson and the offense.
The Cleveland Browns bye week is upon us, and all things considered, heading into the break at 2-2 and just one game behind the division-leading Baltimore Ravens isn’t a bad spot to be. However, while the team beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, they also have two division losses to the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Browns hope to make a playoff run after their bye week, they will need to fix some things during their time off in Week 5. And the biggest thing head coach Kevin Stefanski and quarterback Deshaun Watson must fix is the inconsistent offense.
The Browns are 2-2 heading into their Week 5 bye week, and the stellar defense is the biggest reason for the two wins. Myles Garrett is a half-sack off the league lead right now, and the superstar is just messing with opposing offenses on the field. The secondary is much improved, and linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Anthony Walker are really coming into their own.
On the other side of the ball, though, the offense hasn’t hit its stride yet at all.
In the first two weeks of the season, the Browns’ run game was phenomenal. Nick Chubb and company rushed for 206 yards in Week 1, and even after Chubb went out for the season in Week 2, Jerome Ford picked up the ball (literally and figuratively) and led the way to 198 rushing yards.
Deshaun Watson and the passing game have been another story entirely. Cleveland is dead last (32nd) in passing yards this season, with just 500 total yards worth of completions. Waston has just one interception but his 63.7% completion rate is 23rd in the league, and simply not getting the job done.
Without Chubb, for the last two full games, the team put up just 78 and 93 rushing yards in a defensive-driven win over the Tennessee Titans and a 28-3 loss to the Ravens.
If Stefanski and company want to stick with this offensive identity, they can. What they need to do, though, is figure out how to best split up the carries between Ford, Hunt, and Pierre Strong. So far, it’s been a pretty even split, with Ford getting slightly more work. With this division of labor, though, no one seems to get in a rhythm.
The other option is to completely turn the offense over to Deshaun Watson because, well, the team is only paying him $230 million fully guaranteed.
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