Another week, another elite defensive performance wasted. The Cleveland Browns fell 23\u201316 to the Baltimore Ravens despite four sacks from Myles Garrett, another standout game from rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger, a pick-six by Devin Bush, and multiple critical stops from Jim Schwartz\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n
Before kickoff, the Browns honored franchise icon Bernie Kosar, who continues to fight through severe liver complications. Kosar \u2014 one of the most beloved figures in team history \u2014 is scheduled for a long-awaited liver transplant on Monday at 5 a.m. He received a long, emotional ovation that had the entire stadium leaning forward.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the Browns’ offense did not rise with that energy.<\/p>\n
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Myles Garrett delivered one of the most dominant defensive stretches the NFL has seen in years. He wrecked Baltimore\u2019s offense from the first snap:<\/p>\n
5 solo tackles<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
5 tackles for loss<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
5 QB hits<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
4 sacks (all within the first 35 minutes)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
15 sacks on the season<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Garrett now needs 7.5 sacks to tie the NFL single-season record and 8 to break it, with seven games remaining.<\/p>\n
Cleveland completely corralled Lamar Jackson:<\/p>\n
Lamar Jackson\u2019s Stats:
14\/25 \u2022 167 yards \u2022 0 TD \u2022 2 INT \u2022 5 sacks (\u201326 yards)
QBR: 25.7 \u2022 Rating: 47.6<\/p>\n
Baltimore was rattled all afternoon. Myles Garrett was the best player on the field by a country mile.<\/p>\n
This was not a breakout \u2014 because he already broke out. 11 tackles<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 2 tackles for loss<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 1 interception (his second of the year)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n His interception immediately erased a Shedeur Sanders turnover and again showed his elite instincts, balance, and closing speed.<\/p>\n Schwesinger is playing himself into a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidacy.<\/p>\n The Browns’ defense forced three turnovers, held Baltimore 1-for-4 in the red zone, and produced Cleveland\u2019s only touchdown.<\/p>\n The offense? Again, the opposite.<\/p>\n Cleveland scored only nine points on offense \u2014 all field goals.<\/p>\n Quarterbacks:<\/p>\n Dillon Gabriel: wildly inaccurate, behind receivers, and eventually ruled out for concussion evaluation<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Shedeur Sanders: entered cold, inconsistent, threw a costly interception, and failed on the final drive<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Cleveland\u2019s offensive output was brutal:<\/p>\n 2-for-14 on 3rd down<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 81 passing yards<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 3.5 yards per play<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 11 first downs<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n This isn\u2019t complementary football. It isn\u2019t even functional football.<\/p>\n With the game tied 16\u201316, and Cleveland stuffing Baltimore on 3rd-and-1, the Ravens reached into the bag:<\/p>\n A slow-developing trick play \u2014 but Cleveland was selling out inside, and Andrews bounced it outside untouched.<\/p>\n Still, Cleveland had over two minutes to tie. Instead, the final drive went:<\/p>\n Sanders scrambles for 5 yards<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Incomplete deep left to Bond<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Larvadain drops a TD<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sanders rushed, incomplete to Njoku<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Ballgame. Browns lose 23\u201316.<\/p>\n The Ravens rushed for 184 yards, including a strong performance by Derrick Henry. It wasn\u2019t enough because the offense never did anything to reward them.<\/p>\n 3rd Down Efficiency: BAL 5\u201313 \u2022 CLE 2\u201314 The Browns defense played well enough to win. The Browns have:<\/p>\n An NFL MVP\u2013level superstar in Myles Garrett<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A rising rookie force in Carson Schwesinger<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A terrorizing defensive line<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A respectable run game<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n What they don\u2019t<\/em> have:<\/p>\n A consistent passing offense<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A reliable quarterback situation<\/p>\n<\/li>\n An offensive identity<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n In a season where the Browns could be climbing the AFC ladder, they are instead stuck in neutral \u2014 and sinking. Browns fans have one thing besides the number 1 draft pick to hope for – that Defense Star Myles Garrett breaks the Sack Record of 22.5!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Despite Myles Garrett\u2019s 4 sacks and Carson Schwesinger\u2019s standout play, the Browns fell to the Ravens after another collapse in Cleveland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5662,"featured_media":255420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1056,1472,32477],"class_list":["post-255032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-browns","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-myles-garrett","tag-shedeur-sanders"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255032"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255421,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255032\/revisions\/255421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
This was simply another high-level showing<\/em> from a rising rookie defensive star.<\/p>\n\n
A Championship-Caliber Defense \u2014 and an Offense That Cannot Score<\/h2>\n
Offensive Collapse: The Browns\u2019 Fatal Flaw<\/h3>\n
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Ravens Escape Late \u2014 Trick Play Ends It<\/h2>\n
A tight end end-around to Mark Andrews for the game-winning touchdown.<\/h3>\n
Sanders Close to having Superman moment but Browns Receiver Drops Sure TD in End Zone<\/h4>\n
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Baltimore Run Game Did Damage \u2014 But Defense Held in Key Spots<\/h2>\n
But Cleveland\u2019s defense \u2014 again \u2014 made situational stops to keep the Browns in the game.<\/p>\nTeam Stats Tell the Story<\/h2>\n
Total Yards: BAL 351 \u2022 CLE 187
Passing Yards: BAL 167 \u2022 CLE 81
Rushing: BAL 184 \u2022 CLE 106
Turnovers: BAL 3 \u2022 CLE 1
Red Zone: BAL 1\u20134 \u2022 CLE 0\u20132<\/p>\n
The offense left points everywhere.<\/em><\/p>\nFinal Thoughts: A Championship Defense Is Being Wasted<\/h2>\n
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