The Cleveland Browns under coach Kevin Stefanski continue to be one of the NFL’s most unpredictable teams. There may be no better example of that than what happened in Cleveland on Sunday, as the Browns stunned a Packers squad that looked like a Super Bowl contender over the first two weeks of the season. The Browns are now 4-16 since the start of the 2024 season, with three of those four wins coming over a Ravens team that was 5-2 heading into the game, a Steelers team that boasted an 8-2 record at the time, and the previously unbeaten Packers.
Sunday’s stunner wasn’t all luck on the Browns’ part, though. Cleveland got incredible play out of several key players, including a few rookies that saw season-highs in playing time. As units, the Browns’ defense proved that it’s here to stay with another dominant performance against a top-tier offense, and the run game continued to find its’ groove after a lackluster showing in Week 1. It may be hard to predict what this team will do on a weekly basis, but Sunday’s win proves that this Browns squad can’t be counted out.
Let’s dive into the snap counts from Sunday’s win over Green Bay.
The 100%ers
Offense (5): QB Joe Flacco, C Ethan Pocic, G Wyatt Teller, G Joel Bitonio, OT Cornelius LucasDefense (3): LB Carson Schwesinger, S Ronnie Hickman, CB Denzel Ward
For the third straight week, the Browns got every snap from four of the five weekly starters on the offensive line. This week, it was right tackle Dawand Jones who exited the lineup, as the third-year pro suffered another season-ending injury during the first quarter.
Despite reporting from Browns insider Brad Stainbrook indicating that a quarterback change could be on the horizon in Cleveland, Flacco played 100% of the snaps for the second time this season.
No surprises from this defensive group, as Schwesinger has quickly established himself as the every-down linebacker in Jim Schwartz’s defense, Ward was back to full strength this week after leaving Week 2’s game with cramps, and Hickman played every snap for the third consecutive week.
Offense
After Jones’ early exit on Sunday, the Browns turned to KT Leveston, who was acquired in a trade with the Rams in August. Jack Conklin was inactive for the second straight week, so the Browns wound up getting a combined 128 snaps out of their backup tackle duo of Leveston and Lucas against the Packers.
Quinshon Judkins’ presence on offense was felt heavily this week. After seeing just 20 snaps in his NFL debut in Baltimore, the Browns’ rookie running back emerged as the clear starter this week, playing 36 snaps (55% of the Browns’ offensive plays.) Judkins made the most of his playing time, rushing for 94 yards and a game-tying rushing touchdown on 18 carries.
For the second straight week, though, fellow rookie running back Dylan Sampson’s workload continued to decrease. After playing 43% of the Browns’ snaps while Judkins was absent Week 1, Sampson’s saw just a 23% snap share in Week 2 and a season-low 8%—just five snaps—against Green Bay. For now, the Browns seem content to give Jerome Ford, who played 36% of the snaps in Week 3, the bulk of the backfield work when Judkins isn’t on the field.
As for the Browns’ receiving corps, the top two of Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman have seen a consistent workload over the first three games, but the snap counts continue to show undrafted free-agent Isaiah Bond establishing himself as the clear third receiver. After mostly splitting time with Jamari Thrash in Weeks 1 and 2, Bond played 65% of the plays (43 snaps) against the Packers. Bond recorded the first multi-catch game of his NFL career, finishing the day with two receptions for 16 yards.
Bond was also the Browns’ primary slot receiver for the first time this season. Cedric Tillman and Harold Fannin Jr. held the distinction in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively, but Bond led the team in Week 3 with 16 slot snaps and played a season-high 59% of his snaps from the slot, per PFF.
Defense
On the defensive side of the ball, things were mostly static for the Browns. Grant Delpit, who made a game-changing play in the fourth quarter when he intercepted a pass from Packers quarterback Jordan Love, missed just one snap, while Greg Newsome missed just three and played 95% of the snaps opposite of Denzel Ward. Linebacker Devin Bush who nearly made a clutch play of his own on the Packers’ final offensive drive, played a season-high 83% of the snaps opposite of Schwesinger.
The most notable change on defense came in the slot. After a nightmarish Sunday at the spot last week where starter Cameron Mitchell allowed three touchdowns in coverage, the Browns decided to sit the 2023 fifth-round pick and turn to Myles Harden instead. Harden played 66% of the Browns’ defensive snaps, while rookie Dom Jones—who got a hat in place of Mitchell this week—played just four snaps.
On the edge, the Browns’ three-man rotation stayed consistent, with Myles Garrett playing the vast majority of snaps (80%), Isaiah McGuire maintaining his spot as the next man up (54%), and Alex Wright rotating in as the third man (37%). Wright recorded his first sack of the season on Sunday.
Special teams
Cleveland’s special teams unit experienced a major bounce-back from a rough performance in Baltimore last week. The Browns got a beautiful fourth-quarter punt from Corey Bojorquez that pinned Green Bay at their own two-yard line and later blocked a field goal that would’ve put the Packers back on top in the final two minutes. Veteran defensive lineman Shelby Harris got credit for the block on one of just the three snaps he played on special teams this week.
The regular staples on special teams so far this season remained the same: LB Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, S Donovan McMillon, DE Cameron Thomas, LB Mohamoud Diabate, S Rayshawn Jenkins, and TE Blake Whiteheart all logged more than 50% of the Browns’ snaps on Sunday, with Adin Huntington falling just shy at 48%.
Veteran wide receiver and returner Kaden Davis, who made his regular-season debut after being elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s game, played 61% of the Browns’ special teams snaps. DeAndre Carter played just 35% (8 snaps) after clearing concussion protocol earlier in the week.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Analyzing snap counts from the Browns’ win over the Packers
