A lack of discipline has been an issue for the Browns through six games.
This is not necessarily a shocking development to anyone. The Cleveland Browns are struggling in three major areas that are crucial to the outcomes of games. The bye week may allow the Browns to do everything they can to limit these issues.
The Browns lead the league in penalties and missed tackles while they have the third-most dropped passes. The struggles in these areas have unsurprisingly led to the Browns disappointing 2-4 start.
Penalties
Cleveland has had 73 total penalties called against them this season. 11 penalties have been declined and two were offsetting. The 57 accepted penalties have led 506 penalty yards. Compiling these type of penalty numbers will make things a lot more difficult for even the most talented teams to win. In order for Cleveland to start winning games they need to start first with cleaning things up in the penalty department.
Missed tackles
Another area that has showed their lack of discipline is the amount of missed tackles. The Browns have missed 62 tackles this season. This is a problem. These missed tackles have led to big plays for the other team and points that should not have been scored. A complete turnaround should not be expected as this was also an issue last year. The best outcome is that the number regresses to the mean. That way the Browns are more towards the middle of the pack rather than leading it.
Dropped passes
The quickest way to kill a drive besides a penalty is with a dropped pass. The Cleveland Browns have nine dropped passes, tied for third-most with the league. The failure in this department does not fall on the shoulders of just one person. Everyone on the roster has contributed to this lackluster statistic. Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. both have three drops. David Njoku, Nick Chubb and Antonio Callaway have two drops apiece. Finally Dontrell Hilliard, Ricky Seals-Jones and Demetrius Harris have each dropped one pass.
Players are going to drop passes from time to time. It’s part of the game and eliminating it entirely is impossible. What the Browns can do is limit the amount of drops. If they can do that they may just be able to sustain a few more drives, score some more points and perhaps win some games.
