Can Cleveland Browns Find Their Identity In Las Vegas?

The Browns visit the Raiders in Week 4 looking to figure out what it is they do well, particularly on offense, as they look to improve to 2-2 on the young season

Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Dawand Jones (79) and guard Wyatt Teller (77) wait for the snap during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants at Huntington Bank Field, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you find yourself asking what it is the Cleveland Browns offense does well through the first three weeks of the season, you're not alone.

The first three games have been a roller coaster ride, featuring some of the lowest of lows for what the offense should look like, with a few moments of explosiveness sprinkled in. It's hardly what the Browns spent months advertising after they opted for replacing former offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt with Ken Dorsey.

This new system was supposed to be the perfect one for Deshaun Watson. Instead he looks uncomfortable – no thanks to the offensive line, which has given up 16 sacks already this season. His receivers also lead the league in dropped passes.

This new system was supposed to come with more bells and whistles too, in the form of downfield shots and pre-snap motion. Neither of those things have been very apparent so far.

Cleveland's offense is in the midst of an identity crisis. That's not necessarily uncommon this time of year, but nearing the quarter pole of the season time feels of the essence.

Entering Week 4, the Browns passing offense is bottom four in the league, accumulating just 551 yards through the air in three games. That's good for a league worst 4.8 yards per attempt average. and a bottom three 152.3 yards per game.

The rushing numbers aren't much better, as Cleveland has the eighth least amount of rushing yards with just 287 so far. That comes out to 95.7 yards per game, which ranks in the bottom third of the league.

What's maybe most perplexing is the fact that in the Browns lone win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2, the run game was their greatest strength. The trio of Jerome Ford, D'Onta Foreman and Watson combined for the majority of the team's 125 rushing yards that day, as the Browns eked out an ugly win 18-13.

Sep 15, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford (34) runs the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Kevin Stefanski also featured some interesting concepts in that game, using extra lineman in "heavy" formations to breathe some life into the run game. Those types of looks were no where to be seen in an embarrassing Week 3 loss to the Giants, who boast one of the worst run defenses in football.

That's what been so bizarre about the first three games for Cleveland. Even the things that have worked haven't seemed to be carried over or prioritized from one week to the next. Hence the question about what this team's offensive identity even is at this point.

Which brings us back to this weekend's Week 4 matchup with the Raiders.

Nick Chubb expected to take next step in his return to the field for #Browns this week, per report from @AdamSchefter: https://t.co/miaIfRI8wo

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) September 29, 2024

This should be the perfect "get right" game for a Browns offense desperate to find it's footing. Like the Giants, Vegas enters Sunday with a noticeably porous run defense, yielding the third most yards per game at a clip of 152.7. Their pass defense is only slightly better, yielding around 226 yards per game – the 10th worst clip in the league.

Then throw in the fact that the Raiders will be missing their two best players in WR Davante Adams and DE Maxx Crosby as well.

There's no reason the Browns shouldn't be returning to Cleveland in the wee hours of the morning with not only a win, but a new found confidence in their offense. Anything other than that would be a doomsday scenario.

Safety Grant Delpit called this one a "must-win" this week. It feels about as close to that as a Week 4 game could be.