The Cleveland Browns lost a tough game this past Sunday, falling to the Indianapolis Colts in a dramatic finish 25-24. The Browns were ahead for much of the game until Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to get the win. The offense struggled for most of the contest, scoring just 10 points versus the Colts’ defense. Because of these offensive struggles, the Browns defense attemptedto win the game by themselves.

The Browns’ D scored two of the team’s touchdowns, effectively outscoring their own offense. The defense did this against a Colts’ offense that is ranked second in points per game (31.3) and first in yards per game (432.4). They held the Colts to just 362 total yards of offense and forced four turnovers in the game. Andrew Luck completed 24 of 53 passes for 294 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Browns’ defense tried to single handily win the game for the team, but the defense was not enough to cement the win. In this week’s film room, I will take a look at the two defensive touchdowns and the last stand the defense gave to try to hold onto the win.

So come on in, take a seat and enjoy this week’s defensive film room. After you have read through my thoughts on this week’s game, let me know what you saw from the Browns defense this week. Roll the tape!

Fumble Recovery for a Touchdown

This was the first score of the day for both teams. It was a 3rd and 10 play late in the first quarter on the Indianapolis 10-yard line. Browns’ defensive lineman Desmond Bryant and linebacker Paul Kruger combined to sack Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck and force a fumble that was recovered for a touchdown by linebacker Craig Robertson. Here is how the play went down.

The Colts are lined up in a shotgun formation with a running back to the right of Luck. The offense has two receivers out wide to the left with a tight end on the end of the left side of the line and a single receiver out wide to the right. The Browns are in a Cover One defense with single man coverage on all the pass catchers in the play. The Browns are rushing six players including blitzing two safeties (Donte Whitner and Jim Leonhard) and a linebacker (Craig Robertson).

As you can see here, the Browns have every target covered very closely in single man coverage. This is a huge part of the play because it shows that Luck had nowhere to throw, except maybe to the drop down to the tight end. This tight coverage made Luck hold onto the ball longer so the rush could reach him.

The pass rush succeeded not because of the overload of rushers, but because of great moves by a couple of the rushers. Both Desmond Bryant and Paul Kruger were able to beat their blocker and get to Luck. Both of the two players dipped their shoulders to get around the blocker and get the sack. The defense then swarmed to the ball and Craig Robertson fell on the ball to get the big defensive touchdown. It was a combination of good coverage and pass rush that enabled the Browns’ defense to get this big touchdown.

Interception for a Touchdown

This is a 2nd and 10 play on the Indianapolis 12-yard line early in the third quarter. Justin Gilbert’s interception here gives the Browns a 21-7 lead over the Colts. Here is how the play transpired.

The Colts are lined up in a shotgun formation with a running back to the left of Luck and four receivers out wide. The main route to focus on this play is the out route by receiver Reggie Wayne. The Browns are in a Cover One with man coverage on all the receivers. The defense is rushing five on the play with linebacker Barkevious Mingo initially rushing the passer and then going back in zone coverage.

This play by corner Justin Gilbert is all based on reading the quarterback’s eyes. Gilbert is in man coverage with the outside receiver Hakeem Nicks. Gilbert keeps an eye on Luck in the backfield and sees that he is targeting the out route by Wayne. Gilbert then leaves his man coverage and cuts under Wayne to intercept the ball and take it to the endzone. It was a great and smart read by the rookie cornerback. The other key to the play was the good pass rush that put pressure on Luck to throw the ball.

4th Down Play on Goal line

This play could have cemented the win for the Browns if the defense could have stopped the Colts on this 4th down play. This two yard gain by Boom Herron was a 4th and 1 play on Cleveland three-yard line. Here is how the play happened.

The Colts design a run to the right by Boom Herron. The Colts are in the I-Formation with two tight ends on the right end of the line and one tight end on the left end of the line. The Browns have six defensive players with their hands on the ground with a linebacker rushing off the edge on both sides of the line. The Browns have three other players in the box and 3-yards behind the line.

The initial push is good by the Browns, especially from defensive lineman Billy Winn. He stays strong on his blocker and does not lose any ground, causing Herron to run outside of him. Next part of the play is the smart undercut by Barkevious Mingo. Mingo takes out the full back to allow the players behind him to come in free to get the tackle.

The two players that I believe were the main culprits in not getting the stop are safety Donte Whitner and linebacker Craig Robertson. Whitner and Robertson go too far outside and get fooled by Herron on the spin move. They were in position to make the game-winning stop, but overran Herron and let him get the first down play.

Defensive Highlight

The Browns defensive highlight is linebacker Barkevious Mingo. Mingo probably played his best game of his career this past Sunday versus the Colts. On Sunday, he notched two tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, five quarterback hits, and one pass defense. He showed his pass rushing ability that everyone was expecting when the Browns drafted him. According to ProFootballFocus, Mingo received the second highest overall grade (3.5) of all the Browns’ defenders for his performance. He also was tied for the second best pass-rushing grade (2.4) on the Browns’ defense.

Defensive Lowlight

It is hard to give a defensive lowlight for this great performance, but the only real lowlight for the defense was the 4th down play late in the game. The Browns had a chance to seal the win if they could have made the 4th down stop on the three-yard line with under a minute to go in the game. But, this would have not been a lowlight had the offense scored more points and been able to extend the lead that the defense gave them.