CLEVELAND, Ohio — You already can’t say enough good things about this Browns defense.
So here are three more things, all of which took place during last week’s NFL Honors:
Myles Garrett won a second career Defensive Player of the Year award.Carson Schwesinger won Defensive Rookie of the Year. Cleveland became the fourth team to win DPOY and DROY in the same season.
Here’s how rare that third accomplishment is.
The history
The DROY dates back to 1967, while the DPOY award dates back to 1971.
Below are the other three teams to claim both in the same season:
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert and defensive tackle Joe Greene.APPittsburgh Steelers, 1974: DPOY, Joe Greene | DROY, Jack Lambert
The franchise was still in search of their first ring, but were led by their Steel Curtain defense that simply dominated the league.
Greene won a second career DPOY after finishing with 9.5 sacks and four fumbles recovered. Lambert, the rookie out of Kent State, fit in well with Pittsburgh’s defense and won DROY.
Pittsburgh carried the dominance to Super Bowl IX, where the defense limited Minnesota to two field goals in a 16-6 win.
New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor.ASSOCIATED PRESSNew York Giants, 1981: Lawrence Taylor, DPOY & DROY
Lawrence Taylor is his name, and dominance was his game.
To this day, Taylor is the only player to win DPOY as a rookie.
Taylor made waves from the day he entered the NFL and finished his first year with 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.
This gave him his first of three career DPOY awards, as he led the Giants to the divisional round where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion 49ers.
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and linebacker Ray Lewis.ASSOCIATED PRESSBaltimore Ravens, 2003: DPOY, Ray Lewis | DROY, Terrell Suggs
Baltimore’s performance in the 2003 NFL Draft, specifically drafting Suggs (No. 10), helped it remain among the top defenses in the NFL.
Suggs would eventually join Lewis in the DPOY club in 2011, but he’s still the franchise’s most recent DROY winner.
Lewis won his second career DPOY after finishing second in total tackles (163), as well as third in solo tackles (121).
Suggs won DROY after tying for seventh in sacks (12.0) and finishing in a four-way tie for first in forced fumbles (six).
Baltimore won their first AFC North divisional title in franchise history, before losing to Tennessee in the wild card round.
Defensive Rankings Comparison
Cleveland’s defense remained one of the top units in 2025.
But how did it compare to the three other defenses on this list?
Below are the team defensive rankings for each season, including points allowed, passing yards allowed and rushing yards allowed.
TeamPoints allowed (Rank)PY allowed (Rank)RY allowed (Rank)74′ Steelers13.5 (2nd)104.7 (1st)114.9 (6th)81′ Giants16.1 (3rd)183.4 (7th)118.2 (10th)03′ Ravens17.6 (6th)175.3 (4th)96.0 (6th)25′ Browns22.3 (14th)167.2 (3rd)116.4 (16th)The Offensive Side
Cleveland is the only team in this exclusive club to miss the playoffs, let alone finish under .500.
It’s evident that the defense approached every week like it was a playoff game, while their offense let them down in the end.
Similar to Cleveland, the offenses of the other three teams on the list also played multiple quarterbacks and produced a below-average passing game.
However, they made up for that production elsewhere.
Here are the rankings for each offense by their year in points per game, passing yards per game, and rushing yards per game.
TeamPoints (Rank)PY per game (Rank)RY Per game (Rank)74′ Steelers21.8 (6th)139.9 (21st)172.6 (2nd)81′ Giants18.4 (22nd)165.1 (24th)105.3 (25th)03′ Ravens24.4 (8th)140.9 (32nd)167.1 (1st)25′ Browns16.4 (31st)165.1 (31st)97.0 (27th)Conclusion
Jim Schwartz was the architect of this Browns defense and he has since resigned as the defensive coordinator.
Whether the unit will continue to produce at this rate with their soon-to-be-hired defensive coordinator is undetermined.
But Cleveland’s dual-award accomplishment was the cherry on top to Schwartz’s tenure in Cleveland.
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