5 Browns to Blame for Pathetic 1-4 Start

The Offensive Line

It would be unfair to Deshaun Watson to talk about his struggles without mentioning the offensive line.

For the second straight season, the Browns' offensive line is in shambles because of injuries. Jed Wills is in and out of the lineup, and Jack Conklin is still out with injury. Dawand Jones and James Hudson III haven't been good whenever they had to step up but it was the entire o-line in Week 5 that struggled immensely.

Heading into Week 5, the Browns had allowed more sacks than any other team in the league with 19. Watson was sacked another seven times on Sunday to add to that tally. Plus, every single member of the front five except for Ethan Pocic was called for a penalty.

On PFF, RT Dawand Jones and RG Zak Zinter received 39.7 and 34.1 PFF grades, respectively, the two lowest marks for any Browns starter. Unless the offensive line starts playing better, it's hard to expect Watson to work miracles.

Jerry Jeudy

In the rare moments the Browns' offense clicked and Deshaun Watson threw a good pass, the wide receivers failed to take advantage. In the most important drive of the game for the Browns, Jeudy dropped an easy pass in the end zone after Watson threw one of his most accurate passes of the afternoon.

That play summed up Jerry Jeudy's performance for the day. He finished with one catch in three targets for a total of 16 yards. It was easily his worst performance of the season as he received a 48.5 grade on PFF.

Through five games of the season, Jeudy has 19 receptions for 213 yards and one touchdown. When the Browns traded a fifth and a sixth-round pick for him in the 2024 offseason, they had higher expectations for the former Broncos player. That is why they gave him the three-year, $58 million contract extension.

So far, Jeudy has failed in his role as the WR2, contributing to the lack of offensive playmaking on this team. It's hard to see this offense getting back on track if the wide receivers don't pick up the slack.

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