Browns Offense
The Browns averaged the fewest points per game in the NFL last season. They also ranked last in big plays (10+ yard carries and 20+ yard receptions) and third-down percentage. As a result, they re-tooled their offensive attack, bringing QB Joe Flacco back to Cleveland after going 4-1 as a starter in 2023 and leading the team to the playoffs. Cleveland averaged 28.6 points per game under Flacco. He spent last season with the Indianapolis Colts, playing in eight games and starting six. He posted a 71.6 PFF offensive grade in 2024, ranking 26th among 42 eligible quarterbacks.
A first-round pick by the Ravens in 2008, Flacco becomes the eighth quarterback since 1950 to make a Week 1 start at the age of 40 or older, and he made his first start exactly 17 years ago, also against the Bengals.
Cleveland’s receiving corps features Jerry Jeudy, who led the team with 1,229 yards last season, including 811 from Weeks 11-18, as well as tight ends David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. Njoku led Cleveland with five receiving touchdowns last year, and Fannin Jr. was selected 67th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft after leading the FBS with 117 receptions and 1,555 yards last year at Bowling Green.
The Browns shifted their running backs room around, drafting Quinshon Judkins from Ohio State and Dylan Sampson from Tennessee. Long-time starter Nick Chubb left in free agency. Judkins has yet to sign his rookie contract, so veteran back Jerome Ford could be in line to start in the backfield Sunday. Ford carried the ball 11 times for 92 yards and a touchdown in Week 16 last season against the Bengals, one of the six games he started in 2024.
Blocking for Flacco, Ford and company, the Browns offensive line enters 2025 looking for a more successful campaign after posting the third-lowest PFF run block grade (50.2) and sixth-lowest pass block grade (59.5) in 2024. They struggled with injuries, using seven different offensive line combinations over the first eight weeks of the season. Cleveland brought depth into the offensive line room, adding Tevin Jenkins and Cornelius Lucas during free agency to help anchor a group led by veterans Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin, Ethan Pocic and Wyatt Teller.