The Cleveland Browns were not able to pull out a victory against the Los Angeles Chargers. Blame can be spread around to a number of decisions, calls or players but the defense, giving up 47 points, will take the brunt of the blame.
It wasn’t all bad on that side of the ball. A week after gaining 117 yards, on only 15 carries (7.8 ypc), Cleveland’s defense held Austin Ekeler to only 66 yards on 17 carries (3.9 ypc). They also kept him from breaking out on any long runs with his longest going for only nine yards.
One of the biggest reasons for the team’s success against the run was rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. While the Notre Dame product didn’t have his best game as a professional, he logged his most snaps (68) and showed his amazing closing speed on a number of plays including this one:
once #28 JOK can track the ball he is shot straight out of a cannon pic.twitter.com/DN0ZyvtFO1
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 11, 2021
Having to fight through traffic, Owusu-Koramoah easily beats his would-be-blocker, the left guard, and flies to the ball hitting the running back near the line of scrimmage.
His ability to identify and attack quickly will continue to be an important trait as the Browns second-round pick becomes a mainstay of the defensive gameplan.
