Carson Schwesinger Feeling 'Way Farther' Ahead in Year 2 With Browns

The Cleveland Browns are in a unique position.

After falling 34-10 in Week 1, the Browns bounced back in Week 2 with a tight-knit victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-19. While the Browns do look like a much more well-rounded side, especially after ironing out the kinks from the season opener, there is still work to do to remain competitive.

Defensively, a lot of slow starts have deterred much of the praise that unit has received in years past.

However, although the Browns aren't exactly where they want to be just yet, sophomore linebacker Carson Schwesinger, a leader on the defense and one of the league's most respected defenders, has said that he has already seen major growth.

"Execution was a whole lot better across the board," he said. "Whether it was pre-snap execution, post-snap execution, everything like that. We understood where our problems were Week 1 and throughout the week we went to fix it, and now the goal is to fix problems and build off it."

Cleveland Browns, Carson Schwesinge — Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (85) scores a touchdown against Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger (49) during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Browns 34-10. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Browns rank 16th in passing yards allowed per game with 205, 22nd in rushing yards allowed with 131.5 and 20th in points allowed per game with 26.5.

As Schwesinger said, many of those numbers were impacted hard by the Week 1 struggles. As a unit, the defense allowed Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence to complete 18-of-23 passes for a whopping 245 yards and four touchdowns. They also gave up 126 yards on the ground to a combination of rushers.

But in Week 2, they went to Tampa and halted the Baker Mayfield-led Bucs, holding him to 182 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Schewsinger, who led the team in tackles that game with 10, already has 20 on the campaign, with two for a loss and one quarterback hit. Against the Bucs, he also made a game-halting tackle on Mayfield as he tried to scramble for a first down on the game's final drive.

"...We were able to get him out of the pocket and at that point it is just open field tackling," he said.

When asked about his growth specifically, Schwesinger said he is already feeling much more comfortable compared to his rookie season.

"[I'm] way farther [ahead of last year]," the second-year linebacker said. "It's like anything. The more time on task you have with it, the easier things get, then the more you can do. It's just grown. Obviously, the more you watch and the more you play, the easier all that stuff gets. Doing more ends up being easier.

"At the end of the day, what we do on defense is we want to get lined up quick and not have a lot to worry about. That way, we can go in there and play fast."

Schwesinger and the rest of the Browns are poised to carry their newfound momentum into Week 3, when they will welcome the Carolina Panthers to Huntington Bank Field for their home opener.

Looking to continue improving defensively and get several players, such as young edge rusher Jared Verse, who have gotten off to lackluster starts this season, back on track, the Browns will have another opportunity to put Week 1 behind them in just a few days.

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