The Cleveland Browns are 4-3 on the year after beating the Oakland Raiders 23-13 on Sunday. The game was a close match throughout with the Browns able to push away in the fourth quarter. The Browns have struggled on offense over the past few weeks, but in the wake of these struggles the Browns defense has stepped up. The unit was the key to the win versus Oakland, holding the Raiders to 13 points and forcing them to turn the ball over three times. The Browns defense struggled in the first few weeks of the season, but over the last couple weeks the defense has played closer to the people’s preseason expectations. So what have the Browns done to improve their defense? The pass coverage, third down efficiency, and rush defense are three of the improvements the defense showed in the win versus the Raiders.

Take a seat and enjoy this week’s film room! After you’re done reading, talk about what you see different with the defense in the comments.

Pass Coverage

The Browns secondary is probably the number one improvement over the last couple weeks. On Sunday, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 34 of 54 passes for 328 yards and one touchdown. This was a lot of yards, but he threw 54 passes on the day averaging only six yards per pass attempt and also threw 20 incompletions. The Browns were able to limit the big plays in the passing game, allowing only three passes over 20 yards. Here is an example of the improved pass coverage.

This was a 1st-and-10 play late in the fourth quarter with the Browns up 16-6. This play ends up being a one yard gain in situation where the Raiders were looking for bigger chunks of yards. Here is how the play went down.

The Raiders lined up with four receivers and a running back next to Carr in the shotgun. The Browns are in cover two with three corners in man-to-man coverage on the outside routes. The two deep safeties are covering the backend of the secondary, while linebacker Karlos Dansby and safety Jim Leonhard are in zone covering the underneath routes. The Browns rush four on this play.

As you see in this shot, the Browns are completely shadowing every single target available to Carr. This shut down coverage makes Carr have to throw the ball to his checkdown Darren McFadden. But even with him, Dansby is right on him, bringing him down immediately after the catch.

The Browns coverage has been very good over the last couple weeks. It seems like almost every player has improved his overall performance in the secondary. I think the biggest key to this upgrade in pass coverage is the play of number one corner Joe Haden. Haden has played at the shutdown level he has shown in the pass. Also, the young Justin Gilbert is playing better and growing more confident.

Third Down Defense

The Browns defense is starting to get off the field more often after third downs. The team struggled during the preseason and most of the regular season on being able to stop teams on third downs. On Sunday, the Browns held the Raiders to just 6 of 19 on third downs for a 32% first down rate. Here is an example of how the Browns are getting off the field after third downs.

This was 3rd-and-2 play early in the first quarter of the game. The Raiders were driving on their second drive of the game and just needed less then two yards for the first down. The Browns were able to force an incompletion with a tip at line of scrimmage by Ahtyba Rubin. Here is how it went down.

The Raiders design a quick pass to gain the first down. They line up with one receiver on the right with three tight ends on the end of the left side of the line. The three tight ends branch out to try to clear space for the underneath route by receiver Andre Holmes running left.

The Browns are in a cover one with almost every player at the line of scrimmage. The Browns play man-to-man on every target in the passing game. Linebacker Karlos Dansby is in zone covering the underneath area of the passing game. Safety Donte Whitner is covering the backend of the secondary.

This shot shows that every target is covered tightly by the Browns secondary. No one is open for Carr. Carr attempts to throw to Holmes underneath, but the ball is tipped by Rubin at the line of scrimmage.

Rubin does what he is taught to do by raising his arms if he could not get to the quarterback. He was able to tip the pass causing an incompletion. This shot also shows how good the coverage was. The only player who looked open was Holmes underneath, but as you can see here, Karlos Dansby was covering the underneath route in zone and was in position to pick off the pass if it had not been tipped. The third down coverage was completely tight throughout the whole defense and allowed the defense to get off the field.

Third down defense is a lot of the times based on how good your pass coverage is. As noted earlier, the Browns pass coverage was pretty good this week. It also relies on what you do in the previous two downs. It is much easier to stop a 3rd-and-long rather then a 3rd-and-short. The Browns were able to force a few 3rd-and-longs throughout the game that allowed the defense to have an easier chance to get off the field. In order to force a long third down, a defense usually must have solid run defense and that is something the Browns had on Sunday.

Run Defense

The Browns have had a pretty horrendous run defense all season. The team gives up the third most rushing yards per game in the entire NFL. But this week versus the Oakland Raiders, the Browns only allowed 71 yards on the ground in the game. One of the biggest reasons the Browns were able to stop the Raiders run game was because of the performance of the linebackers and secondary. With the thin defensive line, the rest of the defense must rally to stop the run and versus the Raiders the team showed this ability. Here are two examples of the secondary helping out in the run game.

This play is a 3rd-and-1 play early in second quarter. The Raiders were at midfield and driving when Whitner made a huge stop to force the Raiders to punt. Here is how the play was made.

This play was stopped because of a perfect blitz up through the right B gap. Whitner hits the gap perfectly at the right time and makes the stop on the run by fullback Jamize Olawale. The run was stuffed by Whitner with no gain and forced the Raiders to punt.

This is another play where the secondary and linebackers help make the run stop. It is a 2nd-and-3 play in the third quarter of the game. Haden tackles running back Darren McFadden for a three-yard loss. Here is how Haden made the stop.

The run play is a designed counter run to the left by running back Darren McFadden. The key to defending this play comes at the end of the line by corner Joe Haden and linebacker Barkevious Mingo. They are in charge of contain and controlling the edge. On this play, both players stay true to their assignment and are in position to make the tackle. Haden shoots off the edge quickly and makes the tackle for a loss. Another key is Ahtyba Rubin is eyeing McFadden in the middle of the line and is line position to get of the block and fill the hole McFadden could have tried to run through.

The Browns run defense must be a team effort because of the lack of depth on the defensive line. The linebackers and secondary will need to keep helping out in the run game and make plays at the line of scrimmage. Hopefully this improvement is something the Browns can build on for the rest of the season.

Defensive Highlight

My defensive highlights are Paul Kruger and Joe Haden. Kruger had an exceptional game versus the Oakland Raiders. He had three sacks, five tackles, three tackles for loss, two hits on the quarterback, one pass defended, and one forced fumble. That is one of the better lines you will see all season. He made plays all game and was truly a playmaker for the Browns on Sunday.

Joe Haden was very impressive in coverage versus the Raiders. According to ProFootballFocus, Haden was graded with the third highest grade on defense. Haden was targeted 13 times and allowed only seven receptions for 64 yards, according to PFF. He also had nine tackles, two passes defended, a tackle for a loss, and a fumble recovery. Haden is starting to return to his Pro Bowl form and in turn making the secondary a lot more difficult to throw against.

Defensive Lowlight

My defensive lowlight is Jabaal Sheard. Sheard has been pretty invisible for most of the season and this week was no different. Sheard tied for the lowest grade of the week of the entire Browns defense by PFF. He has only two sacks on the year and has struggled in run defense especially with containment. He was supposed to be one of the big playmakers for the defense.