Patriots Writer Praises Browns’ Defense Ahead Of Sunday’s Game

The Patriots host the Browns this Sunday in their first home game since Sept. 28. New England is 5-2, while Cleveland is 2-5.

Despite Cleveland’s poor record, its defense ranks among the NFL’s best, holding opponents to just 256.1 total yards per game — the fewest in the league.

Boston Sports Journal’s Greg A. Bedard notes that the Patriots will face a tough challenge this week, citing Cleveland’s impressive speed on defense.

“This is the fastest defense I have seen on film, and they are aggressive,” Bedard said on Thursday, via Patriots on CLNS. “They play a ton of single-high safety, in-your-face, press-man.”

Head coach Mike Vrabel, who spent last season with the Browns coaching staff, knows what their defense brings to the table.

“Yeah, I mean, just statistically and play style, they’re playing at a high level,” Vrabel said on Tuesday, via A to Z Sports Brandon Little, when asked if the Browns’ defense is the best they’ve faced so far. “There’s quite a lot of confidence. It’s a lot of speed, a lot of disruption. They don’t give you a lot of time to make decisions, and then there are enough change-ups in there. You just have to be good, you have to be sound, and you can’t hold onto the ball.”

Cleveland’s offense scores just 16.1 points per game, so its defense needs to play aggressively to create scoring chances, which the Patriots should recognize.