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 must fix their head-scratching offense in the bye week

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.

The question Kevin Stefanski and the Browns need to answer during the Week 5 bye week is, what type of offense is this?

It feels like the Browns came into the 2023 NFL season with the idea of being a run-first power run team that dominated the opposition in the trenches and passes off of play-action and when the matchups gave them an advantage.

Without Chubb — even after signing Kareem Hunt — the Browns have still run more than they’ve passed each game but the results just aren’t the same without one of the best backs in the league.

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.

While that money should get performances on par with the top signal-callers in the league, the truth is that Cleveland fans haven’t seen Houston Texans Watson yet after he sat out nearly two full seasons after a trade demand and multiple sexual misconduct lawsuits.

Watson also sat out in Week 4 after saying his shoulder should be good to go on Sunday. Injuries are injuries, but after the game, Stefanski revealed that Watson was medically cleared to play, and it was the quarterback's own decision not too. That doesn't look great for a QB who already has some questions surrounding him about both his desire and ability to win games.

If Kevin Stefanski wants to go in this direction, he needs to fully commit. Even with his accuracy issues, Watson has to be in the shotgun with the ball in his hands on the vast majority of plays. The team has the weapons to do this. Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, Donovan Peoples-Jones, rookie David Bell, and David Njoku are a formidable stable of weapons.

It is now up to Watson to get them the ball more efficiently if he is going to truly take the reins of the Browns offense after the Week 5 bye week.

The Browns come back in Week 6 in an incredibly tough way, playing (arguably) the best team in the NFL this season, the San Francisco 49ers. If the Browns don’t figure out their inconsistent offense before them, the team could be in big trouble this season, and the future will become uncertain with Cleveland locked into Deshaun Watson through 2026.