The Cleveland Browns offense craters in win against the Baltimore Ravens originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Browns somehow edged out the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday with a 13-10 victory. At halftime, it was 10-0, and it felt very much like a game that wasn't going to go the Browns' way. That's because the Browns offense has been truly abysmal this season and, heading into Week 6, was one of the worst in the league. A fact that head coach Todd Monken lamented in his post-gamae presser where he talked about not wanting to watch the offensive tape on Monday.
Despite being horrid on offense, this is a team that is now 4-2 and tied for the AFC North, all while coming into the Ravens game ranked 29th in the league in total yards per game with just 273.6. A number that'll fall after Sunday as the Browns put up just 253 yards of offense.
This isn't new, though, as the offense has been an issue all season. Heading into Week 6, the passing game is only 25th in the league, with only rookie Denzel Boston doing any of the heavy lifting. He has 330 of the team's 1,010 total passing yards, while no other Browns player has 160 yards receiving on the season. Watson has yet to hit 300 yards this season, and has three games of less than 165 yards passing.
The rushing game isn't much better, with the team at just 21st in rushing yards per game, a stat inflated by Watson's 167 rushing yards while scrambling. If we're just looking at the running backs on the team, the Browns would be dead last in rushing in totality and rushing yards per game. Quinshon Judkins, the team's "star" running back, is averaging just 3.0 yards per carry this season, and was out for Sunday's game against the Ravens.
Not only have the Browns not moved the ball, but they also can't score touchdowns. Heading into Week 6, they were tied for 28th in the league in touchdowns, with only the Tennessee Titans (6), Miami Dolphins (7), and the Minnesota Vikings (8) having fewer offensive touchdowns than the Browns (9).
More: Browns and Deshaun Watson are doing something that's getting the attention of the NFL
All of these issues were on full display on Sunday. Watson again struggled to move the ball downfield to anyone, with none of the Browns' pass-catchers breaking 70 yards on the day. Watson finished with just 164 yards, completing 16 of 26 passes on the day. His accuracy has taken a hit in recent weeks, and he's hovering at 64.2 on the season. Sure, he's not turning the ball over, but he's also not making plays.
Part of that is on the wide receivers, who were completely shut down on Sunday. The Ravens took Boston out of the conversation, with the rookie only getting one reception for 13 yards, and forcing the likes of Jerry Jeudy to step up. The former Denver Bronco caught four passes for 69 yards, who had more yards receiving than the next three players combined.
The rushing game continued to struggle, which may be a relief for Judkins and his fans, as it's clearly not just his woes that have hindered the team. The Brown averaged just 3.2 yards per carry on the day, a worrying sign. The Browns spent a lot of money in the offseason to rebuild the offensive line, with the hopes of improving the running game, and so far the team has not seen any return on that investment.
Despite that, running backs Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime did have relatively "big" games. McLaughlin rushed for 41 yards on nine carries for a 4.6 yards per rush attempt and Estime scored the Browns' lone offensive touchdown.
The Browns are not doing enough on offense to continue to win games. If the Ravens had their multi-time MVP in Lamar Jackson, this outcome may not have been in the Browns' favor. The defense looked good against Baltimore, but that was with a backup quarterback in there. They're not the same unit from last season, and they're giving up a lot more yards per game than people realize. A good offense can hurt this Browns defense quite easily, and if that happens, the Browns offense won't be there to bail them out.