We looked at the Browns’ offensive tendencies earlier today in part 1 of Saturday Scouting. Now, let’s look at their defense. After trading away Myles Garrett, Cleveland had a tough debut in 2026, allowing the Jaguars offense to gain 360 yards, 34 points and 0.32 yards per play.
Keep in mind we are working with a small sample size of one game. But we can still see how they want to attack certain tendencies and looks. All data from Sumer Sports.
Browns Defense on First Down
The Browns prefer to run Cover 3 behind a heavy box while relying on their four-man pass rush based on their matchup against Jacksonville. But a lot of that can be attributed to the Jaguars leaning into 12 and 13 personnel. Zac Robinson eschewed heavier personnel against the Bengals, so some of this may go out the window if he continues to run a league-leading rate of 11p.
As for beating Cover 3 on first down, running 2×2’s with an in-breaker from number 2 and a curl from number 1. The 2×2 helps prevent the Browns from pressing the outside receiver and the in breaker pulls the hook-curl inside giving inside leverage and space for the curl while the outside corner has to keep top-down leverage. Jacksonville executed that well on this play to tight end Brenton Strange.
— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) September 19, 2026
The Jaguars also averaged almost 8.0 yards per play when running outside zone on first down. This plays right into Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson’s hands.
Based on week 1, Zac Robinson should have plenty of opportunities to slam the WZ button against the Browns.
CC: @BucsJuice pic.twitter.com/takANBmFTI
— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) September 19, 2026
Browns Defense on Second Down
The Bucs can expect more Cover 3 on second down. Baker Mayfield was excellent when he did target the intermediate part of the field last week. He was also excellent attacking that area of the field in 2024. Plays that can push the middle-of-the-field safety and open up the intermediate can be had if Tampa Bay is going hunting for them.
The Bucs finding room in the MOF against C3. pic.twitter.com/I8Zred5dhp
— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) September 19, 2026
Against Cleveland, the Bucs may be able to create bigger plays stretching the defense even further. Using Ted Hurst III and Jalen McMillan to threaten vertically should open up space in the middle for Chris Godwin Jr. and Emeka Egbuka for something like this.
The Jags similarly attacked the Intermediate area of the field against the Browns in week 1, albeit with a more vertical element to it. pic.twitter.com/4zR9utKuKS
— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) September 19, 2026
Browns Defense on Third Down
On third down, the Browns ran man coverage on almost half of their calls. This is where the Bucs will have to find wins with man beaters (rubs and misdirection routes like Post-Corners, Corner-Posts and whip returns. They will also need to look for their better man-beater receivers like McMillan and Hurst.
The footwork and body control from Ted Hurst is very encouraging. pic.twitter.com/qgBOxQPCWB
— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) September 18, 2026
Josh Queipo joined the Pewter Report team in 2022, specializing in salary cap analysis and film study. In addition to his official role with the website and podcast, he has an unofficial role as the Pewter Report team’s beaming light of positivity and jokes. A staunch proponent of the forward pass, he is a father to two amazing children and loves sushi, brisket, steak and bacon, though the order changes depending on the day. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 2008 with a degree in finance.
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