The Browns have the opportunity to gain some needed momentum as they travel to Washington to face the Commanders, seeking to improve on their 1-3 record.
The Commanders have jumped out to a hot start, leading the NFC East with a 3-1 record under rookie QB Jayden Daniels. Daniels has gained praise from the Browns this week for playing like a veteran, not a rookie, as his offensive production has impressed those across the NFL.
Here are three burning questions for the Browns as they head into their Week 5 matchup.
Can the Browns offense continue momentum from its opening drive?
Of the Browns' six offensive touchdowns this season, three of them have come on the teams' opening drive of the game – during the scripted portion of the offense's game plan.
In the middle two quarters, Cleveland has scored just one touchdown and three field goals. In the fourth quarter, they've scored two, one of which came in the final seconds of their 33-17 Week 1 loss to the Cowboys.
"You want to start fast but you also want to sustain, and you want to continue attacking and not relax," offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said on Thursday.
The Browns' "start fast" mentality has worked so far this season, as they've scored on each of their four opening drives. However, their offensive production has not been sustained throughout a game this year.
The Browns have averaged 16.5 points per game this season, including a safety and defensive touchdown, which is the sixth-fewest average in the league. The Browns have not had consecutive drives resulting in a touchdown and have had consecutive scoring drives just three times.
"Not every drive is going to be positive and going to end up in points. That's what we hope for, but it's hard to do in the NFL," QB Deshaun Watson said on Wednesday. "So, yeah, the first drive, we start off fast. We just got to continue to keep pushing forward and doing what we're doing and build off that confidence and that momentum that we have on the first drive."
Will the defense's issues against Raiders with missed tackles carry over into Week 5?
Per Pro Football Focus, the Browns had a season-high 12 missed tackles against the Raiders in Week 4. The Raiders rushing attack, which had yet to record over 71 rushing yards, ran for a season-high 152 yards and seven runs of 10 or more yards.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said that the team had focused on missed tackles during this week's practices as they prepare for a talented Commanders rushing attack featuring running backs Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler and QB Jayden Daniels.
While there is no full contact in practice during the week in order to avoid injuries, Stefanski said there were several different methods the Browns used to correct their issues with bringing down ball carriers.
"We worked at it, so certainly, you achieve what you emphasize," Stefanski said on Friday. "There's drills, there's different pads that you can use, tackling dummies. But it always comes down to very specific techniques. And I think our defensive coaches do an outstanding job of teaching those techniques."
The Commanders have excelled in producing yards after first contact, averaging 3.21 yards after contact per attempt – the 10th-best rate in the league. Cleveland will look to correct last week's issues and limit missed tackles.
"Tackling is about toughness and angles," DE Myles Garrett said on Friday. "Learning the space, learning how to square a guy up. The finishing through part, we've been doing that for years. We've been doing that since Pee Wee or high school, whatever. A lot of the guys are able to run fast, but, as Schwartz would say, it's a cut-back league. Not everybody has that stop-on-a-dime ability. So, you have to be able to square a guy up and know how to get to the angle on his hip where, if he's going to make that cutback, I'm right there."
Will the Browns offensive line be able to protect Watson?
Through the first four weeks of the season, Watson has been sacked 19 times and pressured an additional 73 times – both of which lead the NFL.
With RT Jack Conklin yet to play this season, LT Jedrick Wills Jr. only recording two-and-a-half quarters of play before exiting with an injury, C Ethan Pocicgetting injured against the Raiders and RG Wyatt Teller landing on the injured reserve list, the Browns offensive line has had to rely on a variety of young and veteran players this season.
Pocic ended the week without an injury designation and is expected to play on Sunday.
"Very tough player. He tried to go even in that game after he was injured," Stefanski said on Friday. "But he bounced back, did a nice job rehabbing, getting ready. So, he's a leader for us, he does a great job organizing everything from that position."
Stefanski said that he was waiting to see how players felt on Saturday before deciding who would start at left tackle. He added that Conklin has "tried like crazy" to get back and practice.
Eliminating pressure will be key if the Browns offense is to find success on Sunday. Watson has a 67.3 completion percentage when facing no pressure, a stark contrast from his 48.9 completion percentage when pressured.
"We got to step up to the plate and make those blocks whatever the situation is. We can't have him getting hit," LG Joel Bitonio said after the Giants game, in which Watson was sacked a career-high eight times.
Rookie G Zak Zinter has stepped up in place of Teller. Zinter will have a big challenge ahead of him when he faces Commanders defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, a fearsome duo with years of putting pressure on quarterbacks under their belts.
"He's another young player that's going to continue to get better with reps, with games playing out there. So, he's going to learn from every time he's out there," Stefanski said. "This is an outstanding defensive front. Obviously, those two interior players are outstanding. So, it's a great challenge."
