Bringing up the rear of the AFC North were Cleveland and their dawg pound. After the tumultuous offseason signing of Deshaun Watson entangled with allegations of sexual assault and misconduct resulting in an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine. Watson’s return to the field ended in a 3-3 record which isn’t exactly the result you want out of a $230 Million deal. Perhaps we can chalk this up to a late return and not playing football in almost 2 years, but we will soon decide whether the Browns are getting what they paid for. With all that going on not many news outlets, reporters or fans in general were focused on many other storylines involving the Browns organization. Though that may have been a distraction for the team, their 7-10 record did not come solely because of that scandal.
PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 08: Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) looks dejected after throwing an incomplete pass during the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium on January 8, 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire)
What happened to the Cleveland Browns?
The team’s health should have been a story at the forefront of their performance woes. Finishing in the bottom 10 in their weekly average Banged Up Score rankings they were second to last in AFC North health to only the Baltimore Ravens who were still recovering from last year’s injury issues through much of the early season. Cleveland’s health woes extended to both sides of the ball and caused a big disturbance to both the offensive and defensive lines which as our data at The Predictors has shown time and time again is a major predictor to overall team success. In the trenches offensive linemen Nick Harris who was on pace to be the starting center this year suffered a season ending knee injury in the pre-season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. During the season, OT Jack Conklin also missed games due to knee and ankle injuries and OG Wyatt Teller did for calf issues. Luckily for the Browns, that didn’t stop Nick Chubb who was still able to record over 1500 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns during the season. A welcomed help for the team as ankle and knee injuries to David Njoku took a playmaker away from a team for a portion of the middle of the season.
Who was injured on defense for the Cleveland Browns?
The team started off in an uphill battle regarding their health. With a 72.9 Banged Up Score health ranking going into week 1 they were 31st out of 32 teams. Try as they might to steady the ship, by week 4 they had fallen to a 64.4 and though they came close in week 13 they were never able to get back to their week 1 ranking let alone climb above it. A combination of season-ending injuries but also smaller injuries that kept starters out made it difficult to put together cohesive units that could win games. On the defensive line Jadeveon Clowney (ankle, concussion) and Myles Garret (shoulder) missed games but bigger was the linebacking corps and secondary. Opposing teams averaged 135 rushing yards per game which is no surprise considering the season ending quadriceps tear to Anthony Walker and knee and foot issues to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. In the secondary both Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams missed games with Williams’s hamstring injury causing him to miss the first 5 games of the season.
Unlike their AFC North counterpart Baltimore Ravens, the Browns players gave glowing remarks to their strength coaches and athletic trainers in the recent NFLPA report cards. Their nutrition grade came in at a D+ which is an obvious area of improvement. The team administration and coaches are going to have to put their heads together to improve health for next season and the plan can’t be “hoping for better health”. After signing who they believe is their franchise QB, dismissing certain players they feel weren’t producing and drafting potential depth, head coach Kevin Stefanski and staff need to address the teams’ shortcomings if they want any chance at competing in a division that looks to be getting stronger.
The health data is very compelling showing that teams who can make it all the way to the Super Bowl tend to be at a minimum in the top 10 of health during their title runs if not the top 5. The Browns still have a long way to climb to reach that goal after posting a 68.4 average Banged Up Score this year. This season is new, and teams start with a new slate, hopefully for Browns fans they can change their tune when it comes to injury. Only time will tell.
