Sean Payton Recognized a Big Browns' Defensive Weakness on Tape

Sean Payton picked up on something the Denver Broncos could use when studying Cleveland Browns tape.

Sean Payton surprised the Cleveland Browns on Sunday with several designed quarterback runs by Russell Wilson. The results were overwhelmingly positive as the Denver Broncos defeated the here-to-fore three-loss Browns, 29-12. 

When we started hearing about Payton's vision of implementing a ground-and-pound approach in Year 1 in Denver, some analysts wondered whether Wilson was poised to be a newfangled Taysom Hill, with quarterback power runs and high-volume rushes. 

However, whether due to Wilson's age (35 on Wednesday) or a tactical decision, Payton did not have his new quarterback pulling the ball down with a lot of designed rushes. That changed in Week 12 vs. the Browns based on something Payton saw on film when studying his opponent. 

“There have been weeks where he’s had 30 yards or whatnot, and I wouldn’t have guessed whether he would, or he wouldn’t have," Payton said of Wilson's rushing production on Monday. "This was a week that I would’ve guessed he was going to have good rushing yards because there were a number of good examples of zone reads. The way their ends played and the way they played defensively, we kind of felt like that package of offensive plays that gave him opportunities to run were going to be really good, and they were called yesterday."

The Browns entered Week 12 just outside the NFL's top 10 against the run but fielded the No. 1 defense in yards per game, passing, and third-down efficiency. Thanks to the preternatural abilities of Myles Garrett, Cleveland ranked sixth in team sacks (he accounts for 13 of the squad's 33 total sacks). 

Still, Payton knew that if the Broncos were going to prevail, the ground game would have to flourish, and he'd have to throw some new looks into the game plan relative to Wilson's legs. 

"This was one of the first games where going into the game, I would’ve said, ‘Hey, he’s going to have a positive impact rushing the football,'" Payton said of Russ. 

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Wilson finished Sunday with 11 rushes for 34 yard-fought yards and a touchdown. Payton deployed a few well-time and well-designed read/options that allowed Wilson to key in on the aggressive tendencies of Cleveland's edge defenders and exploit them. 

As a team, Denver rushed for 169 yards on a whopping 39 attempts (4.3 avg) against Cleveland. Russ found the end zone, and so did running back Samaje Perine. 

Wilson's passing stats weren't anything to write home about, especially going against the NFL's best aerial defense. But he finished with a solid 91.9 passer rating, going 12-of-22 for 134 yards and a touchdown. That score was vintage Russ, as he had to buy time and create with his legs on a pivotal 3rd-&-Goal from the Browns' 8-yard line, finding tight end Adam Trautman as he slid for the ball with one knee (which counts as two feet) inbounds. 

Once again, Wilson did not throw an interception, though he did lose a fumble in the first half after scrambling for the yards needed to move the chains on a big fourth-down try. On the season, Wilson's touchdown-to-interception ratio is a very healthy 20-to-4.

Amid Denver's five-game winning streak, Wilson's stats aren't eye-popping, but he's making plays in critical situations, especially when the chips are down late in games. Payton liked what he saw from Russ in the red zone vs. Cleveland. 

“We haven’t been good in the red zone. We were good yesterday, but we haven’t been," Payton said. "We were near the bottom third in the league as a unit. Yesterday we were better. As it pertains to Russell, he’s measured just like our offense. I thought he did a good job with decisions down there. He had a scramble throw to Trautman for a touchdown. Perine gets a touchdown. Russell gets a touchdown yesterday off [a] zone read. It’s an area that we consistently have to work on, pay attention to and improve in.”

The Broncos were 3-for-5 (60%) in the red zone in Week 12. Payton is, of course, correct. 

The Broncos were ranked low in red-zone efficiency, entering Week 12 at No. 21 (48.7%), but they've steadily been climbing. It's a metric that could continue to improve down the stretch. 

That's one striking aspect of the Broncos' current wave of momentum; this team has found many ways to beat high-quality opponents for more than a month, but we're still not seeing Payton's squad fully live up to its potential. That's a scary notion to the NFL. 

Whether it's the passing game, the red zone, third down, rushing efficiency (on both sides of the ball), sacks, or reliable tackling, the Broncos have been imperfect in so many ways. And yet, Denver continues to stack one impressive victory after another. 

That's a credit to Wilson and a testament to Payton's head-coaching wherewithal. 

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