What can the Dallas Cowboys do to counter the league’s best defensive player? ESPN analysts try to puzzle it out.
The Cleveland Browns have one clear advantage over the rest of the teams in the NFL each week of the season.
They have Myles Garrett and everyone else has to deal with that reality.
Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is a disruptive force who can change the direction of a game no matter what the opposition throws at him. Having a plan to counter that on defense is something the unit has worked on over the summer, according to Garrett (quote via a team-provided transcript):
“As a d-line, we didn’t always have the best plan going forward to that, at least to get me free. And I think this year it’s been more of an all-around input on how we can get everyone free. But it’s like, if they’re going to do this towards me, there’s a way to get me free. And there are also options where if they choose to continue to just, double, triple, two chips, whatever it is, we’ll find a way to use that kind of attention towards me to let the other guys eat. So now being able to do both of these things, I feel like that makes us more dynamic and allows me to free up to make more plays and be more dominant.”
The Browns will have their first opportunity to showcase their improved defense when they open the 2024 regular season on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys at Huntington Bank Field.
The Cowboys will be starting rookie Tyler Guyton at left tackle, so how can Dallas contend with Garrett and Cleveland’s defense? That is a question that Dan Orlovsky and Ryan Clark tried to answer on Friday during a spot on ESPN’s NFL Live program:
Foreshadow Fridays
One matchup a weekend and how the teams can attack each others’ units.@dallascowboys vs @Browns
Touchscreen Tuesdays forever @Realrclark25 #nfllive pic.twitter.com/157G36IAbd
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 6, 2024
The Browns should be one of the league’s top defenses again this season as they look to build off the success they found in the first year under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Being able to utilize a game-changer like Garrett tips the field in Cleveland’s favor, leaving opposing offenses to wonder just what they can do to stop the game’s best at his position.