Fields up next as Browns try to tighten up defense
When your defense gets dissected by Patrick Mahomes, you move on.
When your defense gets burned by Davis Mills, you sweat.
“There’s plenty to clean up,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said when addressing Sunday’s 31-21 win over Houston.
Myles Garrett said the Cleveland defense must grow up.
“The D line is pretty much new except for me and Porter [Gustin],” Garrett said. “It’s tough to get that chemistry right away. It’s inspiring to go in the film room and see something we’ve been working on and make it work.”
The next opponent, the Chicago Bears, is inspired by what rookie quarterback Justin Fields might do after Texans rookie Mills gave the Browns a scare.
“No matter what happens, I know I’m meant for this,” Fields said after replacing injured Andy Dalton in Chicago’s win over the Bengals on Sunday.
Aside from postseason losses to Clemson and Alabama, Fields went 20-0 as an Ohio State starter.
Stefanski’s mood was this week is pensive rather than celebratory. He instantly pointed out a “need to play better football,” especially on third down.
Chicago’s rookie, Fields stung the Bengals at a key point in the second half by running for 10 yards on a third-and-9.
“It’s nice to have that,” Bears head coach Matt Nagy said. ‘”That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to trade up for him.”
The Texans contended for a half with Mills, the eighth QB selected in the 2021 draft, at No. 67 overall. Now the Browns must plan for a quarterback who was drafted 11th overall.
Mills entered the Browns’ thoughts only after starter Tyrod Taylor pulled a
hamstring.
Taylor played a strong first half, hurting the Browns, according to Garrett, with plays that weren’t in the scouting report. Taylor’s crisp play went unhindered by a pass rush.
“We’ve got to stay at it, work our technique, and come up with a rush plan,” Stefanski said. “We need production from anywhere we can get it.”
Cleveland’s defensive playing rotation is falling into place. Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney played about threefourths of the snaps in each game up front. Cornerback Greedy Williams has played only eight snaps on defense. Safeties John Johnson, Ronnie Harrison and Grant Delpit are in emerging roles alongside cornerbacks Ward, Greg Newsome and Troy Hill.
Delpit, who logged 26 snaps in his first game as a Brown on Sunday, thinks things will be all right.
“We have a lot of easy fixes we can make, a lot of technique things we can take care of,” he said. “I do think we have the potential to be a great, top-five defense. that’s our goal.”