Browns Star Defender Responds to Jim Schwartz's Criticism Ahead of Week 7

The Cleveland Browns have had a nightmare start to the season. They are currently 1-5 and shipped out receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills.

On Sunday, they will be taking on the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC North showdown. They will need to improve their play if they want to get a win on the board. After last week's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz called out the cornerback room after their disappointing performance.

And now cornerback Greg Newsome II responded to the criticism.

Browns News: Greg Newsome Took Criticism Personally

Certain players wouldn't have taken the public criticism well but that wasn't the case for Newsome II. Instead, the Northwestern product is embracing the challenge and is looking to step up his play.

"Whenever one of our leaders challenges us, we obviously take it personally, but we also use it to motivate us. He has all the trust in us. He trusts us the most out of anybody. So when he comes, we look at it as that, it's not anything else than that. He has so much faith in us, obviously by the way he calls games and everything, he puts it in our hands and we haven't been doing our best so far, but we're going to definitely find a way to fix it."

- Greg Newsome II

Cleveland is 10th in the NFL in pass defense (196.3) but has given up 215-plus passing yards in back-to-back games.

Newsome II is a player who needs to elevate his play. In 2024, he has a 115.7 passer rating allowed with 16.4 yards per reception. In addition, he has a 53.7 coverage grade per PFF.

The 24-year-old has the right mindset, but now it's time to bring it onto the field. Cleveland will have their hands full in Week 7. The Bengals are seventh in the NFL in passing offense (249.7) with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins being the 1-2 punch.

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