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The Cleveland Browns lost for the second time in the 2022 NFL season after dropping their Week 4 assignment to the Atlanta Falcons, 23-20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Here we'll look at some takeaways from the Browns’ Week 4 loss.
Both teams were knotted 20-20 with seven minutes remaining, but the Falcons took the lead with a late field goal. On a third-and-23 play, the Browns' final attempt to win the game was intercepted, sealing the loss.
In this game, a depleted Cleveland front met a tenacious Atlanta defense. Despite the lack of a consistent Browns pass rush, though, the Falcons couldn't manage to get the passing game going. On the flip side, the Browns boasted one of the most effective attacks in the league, but it was halted by the Falcons' stingy defense.
The Browns fell to 2-2 on the season after losing what appeared to be a very winnable game. The Browns' schedule becomes considerably more difficult as they prepare to face the Los Angeles Chargers and their high-flying offense next weekend.
Here are our four takeaways from the Cleveland Browns' Week 4 loss vs. the Falcons.
Final from Atlanta. Back home next week. pic.twitter.com/7pVBu6qPew
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 2, 2022
4. Diminished defensive front hurt
Injuries are becoming an unfortunate tenor in Northeast Ohio. Once again, the Cleveland Browns began the weekend with a long list of injured players, while their Week 4 opponent was relatively healthy.
With Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney, and Taven Bryan all out against the Atlanta Falcons, the Cleveland Browns entered the game with pretty much non-existent defensive line help. And it showed as they were gashed against the run, surrendering 14 consecutive positive runs at one point in the second half.
The Browns defensive front was also -28 on tackles and had just one sack the entire game. Yikes.
3. Browns defense limited Marcus Mariota, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London
Despite their depleted front, however, Cleveland's defense intriguingly managed to limit the Falcons' biggest stars.
To illustrate, Marcus Mariota is now 2-2 as the Atlanta Falcons' starting quarterback after four games, but Sunday was one of his worst outings. The former No. 2 overall pick went just 7-of-19 for 139 yards and one interception. Mariota would gain only five yards on the run and finish the game with a turnover, which Atlanta would recover in the red zone.
Meanwhile, Drake London finished the game with just two catches for 17 yards. That's his lowest yardage total in his young NFL career. Meanwhile, TE Kyle Pitts grabbed a 25-yard reception on the team's first drive, but that would be his lone catch of the day. The Falcons' big guns were pretty much shut down, but ultimately, the Falcons still won. That means head coach Arthur Smith is unlikely to be bothered with his best offensive weapons' lack of production.
As for the Browns, well, they checked a lot of boxes but misfired on a good number as well.
2. Nick Chubb and Denzel Ward stood out
One guy who continued to be excellent was, not surprisingly, Nick Chubb. With him, it's as simple as spamming the run game for the Browns. Chubb not only maintained his league lead in running yards with another 118 yards on 19 carries, but he also scored again.
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He already has 459 yards and five touchdowns for the Browns offense this season, and he is on track to have the most carries in his career by a big margin. If the Browns want to steal another two or three victories over the following seven weeks, his number of touches should remain the same.
On the other side of the ball, cornerback Denzel Ward had maybe his best outing so far this season. Keep in mind that War has had a difficult defensive start to 2022. Expectations were certainly high after a season in which he ended as a top-five cornerback in the league. There is reason to believe that the performance against the Falcons was a step in the right direction.
He finished with two solo tackles, one tackle for loss, two passes defended, and one interception. He was a solid lockdown CB in this game, which is what all Browns fans want him to be.
Ward broke up a deep ball, clamped receivers down the sideline, and even came away with a pick when he matched a crosser stride for stride. The interior depth harmed the run defense, but the secondary, particularly Ward, performed admirably.
1. Costly mistakes on the field and on the sidelines
The Browns' most critical moment came on their opening few offensive drives and their final defensive stands.
Cleveland began the game with three visits to the red zone in the opening four possessions. However, they only had 10 points to show for it at halftime. On the first drive, which ended at the 4-yard line, head coach Kevin Stefanski chose to go for it on fourth down. They fell short, and then the Browns were forced to score a field goal on the second of such red zone trips.
For the rest of the game, the Browns were not in the red zone. Points in those sequences would have paid significant dividends later, and the final outcome demonstrated how unfulfilled aggression may backfire.
The Browns still managed to take a 20-17 lead with 9:58 remaining on a 28-yard run by Nick Chubb, but by then, the defense began to fray.
They gave up 42 yards on a busted coverage play on a second-down ball to Olamide Zaccheus with three minutes remaining. Zaccheus then gained 15 yards as a result of a face mask call on Ward. That was a mental error that followed a coverage error that brought the Falcons into Browns territory. The play was the Falcons' longest gain on the drive that ended with Younghoe Koo's game-winning 45-yard field goal.
Objectively speaking, neither side of the ball played poorly. The Browns outgained the Falcons 403 yards to 333 yards, and the defense stopped the Falcons to 3-for-9 third-down conversions. Cleveland possessed the ball for more than 11 minutes longer than Atlanta, and save for Brissett throwing an interception on third-and-23 on the Browns' last drive, he had mainly played a clean, efficient game.
The Browns just did not make the plays when it counted most, and they paid for it.
