While Tomlin knows what AFC North games are like, his starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, will get his first taste of the division against Cleveland. However, like Tomlin, he knows the problems a Schwartz-coached defense can cause an offense. From 2009-2013, Schwartz and Rodgers faced one another twice a year in the NFC North while Schwartz was the head coach of the Lions and Rodgers was on the Packers.
Rodgers said just as players in the NFL need to evolve to stay in the league, so do coaches. He said Schwartz’s defenses have changed in terms of disguises from what they were 10 years ago. With the Browns’ defense, Rodgers noted how they’ve adapted to continue giving quarterbacks trouble with pre-snap diagnoses.
“It’s an eight-man presentation, but they play two high out of it. That’s the thing. In years past, they played that two high differently,” Rodgers said. “They have a lot of different defenses from the same looks. It’s a defense that works really well together on the back end as far as disguises.”
Through the first five weeks of the 2025 season, the Browns’ defense ranks among the league’s best, allowing top five totals in both rushing and passing yards. According to Tomlin, the unit adjusts its approach each week, tailoring schemes to each opponent to put players in the best position to make plays.
“(Jim) Schwartz has been around a long time, and that guy does a great job of working to play to their strengths and to cover up potential weaknesses that all units have. You see that in his schematics,” Tomlin said. “He’s thoughtfully aggressive. You feel his game planning. He caters to his plan week to week based on the things that opponents do. He’s capable of going big with five defensive linemen versus run games.”