Giants Challenge: Slow Down the Browns' Pass Rush

Giants OTs Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor reveal what makes the Browns defense so difficult.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) runs before an NFL football matchup Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Giants offensive line is off to a good start this season, particularly in pass protection. According to peer Pro Football Focus, the unit is tied for ninth in pass-blocking efficiency rating (88.1) and has allowed just three of the six sacks against quarterback Daniel Jones.

The unit would certainly like to keep that trend going. Still, this week, it won’t come easy as the Giants will visit the Cleveland Browns, who have one of the top pass-rushing defenses through two weeks, a unit headlined by reigning “Defensive Player of the Year” Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith on the edges, and Shelby Harris and former Giants draft pick Dalvin Tomlinson inside.

“They play a rush-crush style of defense,” Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas said, “They present a lot of different problems just from the fact that they're bigger rushers, but they can rush like smaller guys as well. They can dip around the edge. They can change direction inside, move, and counters but also go power. So that puts stress on the tackles.”

Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s pass-rush unit currently ranks seventh in sacks per pass attempt (11.29 percent) and is tied with six other teams for third-most sacks through two games (7).

One of Schwartz’s defensive staples is a wide-9 defensive alignment in which the strongside defensive end lines up all the way outside the tight end instead of head-up on the tight end or outside the tackle. The idea is to give the defensive end more space and better angles to rush the passer and to put added stress on the blockers up front.

“It's huge,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said of the challenges the Wide-9 places on an offensive tackle. “It affects everything, especially when you have a tight end right there and Myles is so wide where you're like, ‘How am I gonna set him?’

“As a wide nine, it's an easy approach to the quarterback. All he has to do is bend the corner, and you have to be good at bending the corner like him. There are only a few select guys in the NFL who are good at bending the corner like that. 

“So you have to be able to get out there with enough width and enough space, but also enough depth in the pocket too, where you're not in [quarterback] Daniel's [Jones] hip.”

Garrett, who currently owns a 26.1 percent win rate in true pass sets, has two sacks this season. He is, however, dealing with a foot injury that has kept him out of practice for the last two days, but it’s believed that he will try to play through his injury. 

If he plays, Garrett figured to line up on both sides, but it’s believed that he might see more of his snaps on the left, which would put him across from Eluemunor on Sunday.

Eluemunor is looking forward to that challenge if it does indeed happen.

“I'm trying to win every matchup; that's why I'm here,” Eluemuor said. “I wanna be the best–I don't care who it is. I don't run in the face of a challenge.  

“That's why I play this game, for challenges like that where I know that they're the best in the world. So I love that match-up.”

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