Pressuring Burrow early while preventing his talented receivers like Chase and Tee Higgins from getting open will be a primary focus for the Browns defense on Sunday.
“We got a real challenge for our coverage and our pass rush because the ball does come out so quick, particularly on first and second down. So, I’m trying to get him off the spot, trying to ruin the timing, that’s a big challenge this week,” Schwartz said.
Burrow has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this season when under pressure. He holds a 100.7 passer rating when pressured, fifth highest in the NFL, and has thrown three touchdowns and one interception.
Schwartz said that Burrow’s ability to quickly read a defense and not flinch under pressure is what has made him so great this year.
“It’s the old adage, ‘You never go broke taking a profit,'” Schwartz said. “He’s taking the checkdowns. He’s working through his progressions real fast. And then he’s picking and choosing his times to run, which is mainly third down and red zone.”
Schwartz said that the Browns defense, which was one of the best at pressuring opposing quarterbacks in 2023, must increase its pressure percentage in 2024, especially against quarterbacks as talented as Burrow.
The Browns still have the fourth-highest pressure rate in the NFL at 39.1 percent, but their sack percentage of 7.4 percent is 10th-highest in the league – a good, but not necessarily elite, clip.
“Our pressure rate really needs to increase,” Schwartz said. “Our scheme and what we do is based on four-man pass rush and our pressure rate needs to go up. Last year, we were really, really good there. Even when we didn’t get sacks, we were applying a lot of pressure. And a little bit like our corners, we need to up our game a little bit in the pass rush game. I have confidence that we can. We have good players up there. We need them to get back and play like we expect them to play.”