The Cleveland Browns finished off their season losing their fifth straight game and ending their season with a 7-9 record. The season finale loss to the Baltimore Ravens capped off a disappointing finish to a season that started with a promising 7-4 record. In the season finale, the Browns held a lead, but once again they could not finish off the victory. The offense continued to struggle, while the defense tried to keep the team in front, but failed late in the game to do that. The Browns’ defense fought hard with the numerous injuries they had sustained but fell victim to their usual weaknesses. In this final film room of the season, I will point out the areas where the Browns’ defense will need to improve next year using the season finale to illustrate them. The three biggest weaknesses the Browns will need to address on defense this offseason are: the defensive line, the pass rush, and the overall run defense.

So take a seat and look through the final defensive film room of the season. After you have read through my thoughts on the big weaknesses of the defense, let me know what you saw from the Browns’ defense this season by commenting below. I appreciate everyone reading my film rooms each week. Look for my season wrap up posts starting next week. Roll the tape!

The Defensive Line

The Browns’ defensive line has struggled all season due to injuries and just lack of talent. According to ProFootballFocus, John Hughes is the only defensive lineman for the Browns that has graded out this season with a positive grade. The defensive line has suffered a lot of injuries, but when the Browns’ starting defensive line was out there, the line still was underwhelming. The lack of a solid defensive line has hurt the team’s run defense and has limited the pass rush for the team. The defensive line is probably the most important position the team will need to address this offseason besides the quarterback spot.

With the defensive line, the problem has been getting penetration into the backfield and being able to fill in the gaps to help in run defense. Here is an example of the below average play by the defensive line.

This play was late in the fourth quarter on a 1st-and-10 play. Here is how running back Justin Forsett and the Ravens pulled off this nine-yard run.

The Ravens are lined up in a right I-Formation with a tight end on the right end of the line and two receivers on the left side of the field. The play is a designed run to the right by running back Justin Forsett. The Browns have three defensive linemen with their hand on the ground with an outside linebacker rushing off both sides of the line and two inside linebackers also in the box to defend the run.

This shot epitomizes the Browns’ struggling defensive line. The line is getting completely swallowed by the Ravens offensive line and giving Forsett a huge hole to run through. None of the three defensive linemen lined up on the right side of the line is getting any sort of penetration to the backfield. The line is actually going backwards rather then getting push towards the backfield.

This shows the problem the defensive line has had all year. Because of injuries, the Browns are forced to play Sione Fua, who gets completely worked on this play. Fua doesn’t stand his ground and is blocked inside enabling a huge hole to form on his outside. So the lack of talent, along with injuries, has really made the defensive line a huge weakness to address.

Pass Rush

The Browns struggled to get pressure on the quarterback all season. The team had only 31 sacks on the year, which ranked 27th in the league. Beyond sack leader Paul Kruger with 11 sacks, only Karlos Dansby (three sacks) and Desmond Bryant (5 sacks) had more then two sacks for the Browns. This is a big area where the Browns will need to address this offseason. Here is an example of the lack of pass rush versus the Ravens

This 1st-and-10 play midway through the third quarter is a great example of the lack of pass rush. Here is how quarterback Joe Flacco completed this 11-yard pass to receiver Steve Smith.

The Ravens line up in a single back set with a receivers bunch set on the left side of the field and tight end on the right end of the line. The Browns are in a Cover One defense with man coverage on all five pass catchers in the play. The Browns are rushing five players against the Ravens’ five offensive linemen.

The Browns were rushing five players on the play and not one of them was able to get pressure on Flacco. Flacco gets about 3.5 seconds in the pocket including a pump fake and the Browns give him no pressure or threat to being sacked. The average time Flacco has had this season to throw was 2.63 seconds . So the Browns’ defense allowed about a second more on this play for Flacco to throw. This allows Steve Smith to get open after running all the way to the other side of the field. The Browns must get defenders this offseason who can put pressure on the quarterback. This in turn makes the coverage even more difficult to throw against because of the less time available to get open.

Run Defense

The biggest problem the defense has had this season is defending against the run. The Browns’ defense ranked last in defending against the run, giving up a league high 141.6 yards per game. In the season finale, the Browns surrendered 129 yards rushing to Baltimore. The biggest culprits of the bad run defense have been the horrible play of the defensive line and the inability for the defenders to stay with their assignment and not be over-aggressive. Here is an example of these two culprits in one play versus the Ravens.

This play was a 2nd-and-10 play early in the second quarter. Here is how the 32-yard run by Justin Forsett transpired.

The Ravens are lined up in a right I-Formation with a tight end on left end of the line and a receiver out wide on both sides of the field. The play is a designed run to the left by running back Justin Forsett. The Browns have two down linemen with a linebacker rushing on both ends of the line and up the middle. The defense also has a stand up defensive lineman rushing on the right side of the line and another linebacker in the box to defend against the run. The Browns’ defense has a total of seven players in the box for this run play.

This shows the first culprit of the horrible run defense, over-pursuit of the Browns defense. The team has really been hurt with cutbacks and this was the case here. Linebacker Barkevious Mingo sets the edge very well here causing Forsett to go inside. But linebacker Craig Robertson and defensive lineman Sione Fua run toward the edge leaving the inside wide open. At least one of them needed to stick inside to make sure the gap filled. The over pursuit leaves a huge hole for Forsett toward the inside.

This shot shows what the over-pursuit has produced along with the second culprit, the horrible play of the defensive line. As you can see in this shot, the Browns’ defensive line has been pushed out toward the edge leaving the inside wide open. Every lineman either makes no ground or loses ground to the Ravens’ offensive line. Going into next season, the Browns must improve both of these factors in order to improve their run defense. The Browns are definitely in for a big renovation on the defensive front this offseason.

Defensive Highlight

The defensive highlight for the season finale is corner Joe Haden. Haden was a true example of “playing like a Brown” in the season finale. He was fighting the flu, but still played his butt off defending Steve Smith and Torrey Smith of the Ravens. In the game, he was targeted nine times, allowing five receptions for 91 yards . He also had four tackles and three passes defended in the defeat. I am giving him the highlight of the game for more then just his stats, but his attitude to be a leader and show he can play through his ailment and be productive through it.

Defensive Lowlight

The defensive lowlight of the game is corner Justin Gilbert. Gilbert did not play in the game after being benched for being late to a meeting and other behavioral problems. He has so much talent, but has squandered away his rookie season because of his immaturity. This immaturity caused him to hurt his fellow teammates in being able to contribute in the season finale. He should look across his meeting room at Joe Haden to find the right way to be a Cleveland Brown.