The Browns’ defense held strong against Joe Burrow again, but it wasn’t enough.
Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
- DL: According to PFF, the Browns’ defensive line did a solid job against Cincinnati, led by Myles Garrett (87.2 grade). Also being highlighted is rookie Mike Hall (80.6) and Sam Kamara (76.6), Jowon Briggs (76.3), and Isaiah McGuire (70.2). McGuire has done a solid job shining, reminding me of Alex Wright’s breakout last year, during the second half of this season. He had the big sack/forced fumble in the fourth quarter.
Michael Hall Jr. among DI in Week 16:
80.8 PFF grade (6th)
81.8 run defense grade (3rd)
1.0 sack
2 TFLs pic.twitter.com/HNyZH6OWOb— PFF CLE Browns (@PFF_Browns) December 24, 2024
- LB: Devin Bush was actually the Browns’ highest-graded defender, per PFF (91.9), although he was two snaps shy of being officially the top-graded player.
- CB: Cleveland didn’t have the best play in the first half from their cornerbacks, as Joe Burrow was having success on third downs. They did, however, limit Ja’Marr Chase for much of the afternoon.
- S: Grant Delpit had one of his better games of the season, grading out to a 71.3 by PFF. Overall, the Browns continue to play four safeties with a mixture of reps as opposed to just their top two safeties.