The Cleveland Browns have the Dallas Cowboys this week, their toughest task so far for the year. These are the three things the Browns need to do to win.
The Dallas Cowboys are 1-2 on the season but they are by far the best team the Cleveland Browns have faced all year. They’re going to be a matchup problem for the Browns, as the Cowboys are the top-rated passing team in the league through three games and Prescott already has well over 1,000 yards through the air.
The Browns biggest issue on this team is their secondary. To which is to say, they don’t have one. They should consider just putting mannequins in the secondary and maybe that’ll be more effective because at least then the receivers would run into them and trip up every once in a while. That’s more than the current crop of defensive backs have been able to do.
That’s the big struggle for the game, the Cowboys passing attack against the Browns passing defense. It could get real ugly for the Browns if they don’t find ways to manage the Cowboys passing game.
Luckily for the Browns, they have just the perfect compliment for delaying, if not outright stopping the Cowboys from getting on the field for long chunks of time: a top-three rushing attacking in the league.
The Browns will need to factor in time of possession and efficient play calling if they hope to do the job that defensively the team can’t do; keep Prescott off the field. So here are three things the Browns need to do to win this game.
Don’t blitz
Aggression really helps defenses. It’s a great way to stifle competition, get rookies off-balanced, or make mediocre passers expose themselves. Dak Prescott isn’t one to get stifled, he’s no rookie and he’s certainly no mediocre passer. While the Cowboys offensive line isn’t as good as it’s been in past years, it’s the best the Browns have faced all year.
Don’t expect Sheldon Richardson to look great this week, because the Bengals and Washington Football Team had below-NFL-caliber offensive lines. That is not the case for the Cowboys. Myles Garrett will be lucky to have three tackles and a sack against this offense. Pressure is going to be difficult to get even if the Browns linebackers weren’t made up of a kindergartener, a crash test dummy, and a bowling ball.
Luckily for the Browns, Mack Wilson is expected back this week, but it should be emphasized that regardless of Wilson’s playtime for the week that neither he nor B.J. Goodson or Sione Takitaki is good in the blitz. You could try doing a corner blitz or a safety blitz but that’d be ill advised. The Browns should normally always blitz, most great defenses do.
Just not this week.
Not against Prescott, who could so easily carve this team up if eleven guys dropped into coverage, let alone when the Browns only drop back five or six into coverage. Making sure the secondary has as much coverage support as possible is going to be prudent. Let the front four do what they’ve done the first three weeks and try to commit problems for the offensive line. The secondary needs all the help they can get this week. So don’t take that away from them.
Control the clock
Dak Prescott’s ability to make plays with his arm should worry the Browns. Through three weeks, the Browns haven’t had to deal with that. Lamar Jackson toasted them, sure, but he’s not a Top-20 passer in the NFL, Joe Burrow is still figuring out the NFL game and Dwayne Haskins should be riding the pine pony. As a passer goes, this is the first Pro Bowl-caliber talent the Browns have faced all year.
Keeping Prescott off the field as much as possible should be priority one. That means long drives, a lot of ISO up the middle, and attacking the middle of the Cowboys defense. The offense staying on the field is going to be the best way to avoid getting gouged in the secondary. With the injuries still plaguing the Browns and Greedy Wiliams out yet again, the Browns defense potentially can’t hang with the Cowboys offense if they allow Prescott to carve them up.
Luckily for the Browns, they have a great offensive line for running the ball, a great tight end and fullback to help make holes, and two high-caliber running backs who can advance the chains. That type of running game is going to be paramount in holding off Prescott’s league-leading the passing attack.
Get Austin Hooper involved early
The Browns may have gotten a break. With Leighton Vander Esch and Sean Lee out, and Jaylon Smith struggling after his recent contract extension, the middle of the field and the flats are going to look awfully inviting. Smith’s struggles were a bit unexpected but many in Dallas are a bit surprised by how Smith has looked so far in 2020, with complaints that he doesn’t have the athleticism needed to do his job.
Without Vander Esch, the linebackers are awful and while Aldon Smith does have four sacks, he’s 31 and has been out of the NFL for five years. That’s 80 games and about 150 odd weeks of not watching relevant film. Add that onto the fact he was never great as a cover linebacker and you can attack that guy all day.
That’s why it’s imperative to get Austin Hooper going across the middle and into the boundaries. Put that Pro Bowl catching tight end to work and get some decent mileage out of his abilities. Part of the key to victory for this game is controlling the play clock. You don’t want Dak Prescott with the ball against this secondary, so keep the Cowboys off the field. That means more dinking and dunking to Hooper, fellow TE Harrison Bryant, and even Kareem Hunt out of the backfield.
The Browns are capable of the big play against anyone with their wide receivers but that’s not always a guaranteed way to go about scoring points. Play the odds, grind the game out, and prepare for Prescott feasting on your defense. Then grind the clock out when you’re on offense. Limit Prescott’s time on the field by extending your own. You do that, in part, by working shorter passing routes to keep the defense honest and to avoid overloading the line of scrimmage.
That’s when you hit a play action roll out to Hooper for the first down. Wash, rinse and repeat.