Cleveland’s defense finds groove with insane pressure rate: Browns defensive snap counts

Then, in the second half, the defense held Carolina to field goals multiple times, despite being in undesirable situations. After the offense re-took the lead, they closed out the game not once, but twice.

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on defense for the Cleveland Browns ' Week 3 game against the Carolina Panthers .

What a day by the defensive line. I was encouraged by what I saw from DT Mason Graham last year, but the leap from year one to year two is legitimate. Through three games, he looks like the Browns' best defender along with CB Denzel Ward , with the ability to take over games. He had two sacks this week and 7 combined tackles. He was PFF's fourth-highest graded defender, but only because a lot of defenders graded well, with a 73.4.