It’s no secret that it’s rare to see this kind of offense from the Cleveland Browns. So rare that the 1154 passing yards over the last three games set a new franchise record for yards over that duration.
Yep, Josh McCown has had the best three-game stretch of any Browns QB in the History of Cleveland football.
This Browns rookie offensive coordinator is surely making a name for himself.
John DeFilippo has propelled the newly-electric Browns offense into seventh in total yards and 13th in points through the first quarter of the season. Cleveland currently sits fifth in passing yards, ahead of teams with notable quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning.
The magic here is the fact that DeFilippo is; A) a rookie OC, and B) getting solid production from players that, to this point in their careers, haven’t really proved much of anything.
Cleveland’s leading receiver is Travis Benjamin. The fourth year wideout already has 411 yards on 22 catches. His previous highs were 314 yards (2014) and 18 catches (2012, 2014).
Success running the ball hasn’t come nearly as easy for the Browns, and their 3.7 yards per carry ranks sixth worst in the NFL. However Duke Johnson Jr. and Isaiah Crowell have 285 receiving yards between them, forcing opposing defenses to respect the plays out of the backfield.
The biggest surprise of the young season – outside of McCown’s unexpected success – has to be tight end Gary Barnidge.
The eight year veteran is tied for third among tight ends with 24 catches, and trails only Rob Gronkowski with 374 yards. Gronk has 375.
Credit must go to DeFilippo for getting every ounce of production out of this offensive group that doesn’t have one big name.
Sunday’s matchup with the vaulted Broncos defense will provide more insight into what we should be able to expect over the remainder of the season.
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