DETROIT — The message from the Browns’ defense was clear after Sunday’s 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions.

There would be no finger pointing coming from them.

“There’s always more you can do,” Myles Garrett said. “Find a way to be effective and productive. At the end of the day, you can’t point a finger at anyone. You just got to focus on yourself and how you can execute better.”

In the locker room after the game, that was a common theme.

Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward had this to say: “We didn’t do good enough. I mean, we didn’t get the win. That’s the biggest thing. So like I said, we gotta watch the tape and see what we can fix.”

And then there was this from fellow corner Greg Newsome II: “Obviously, there are some plays that we need to get back. As a defense, we didn’t play 100% sound, but I think we did a good job overall.”

Finally, safety Grant Delpit said “not good enough” when asked about the Browns’ run defense.

Among the veteran players on coordinator Jim Schwartz’s unit, it’s unsurprising to hear this sentiment

The NFL’s No. 1 overall defense in terms of yards allowed heading into this week, the Browns are one of, if not the best, defense in the league. They are a core group that has been together for awhile, and is now in its third year in Schwartz’s attack-minded scheme.

While these players would never point fingers at the other phases of the game, though, it’s perfectly fair for everyone else to, including the offensive players themselves.

“They’ve been doing their thing all season,” receiver Jerry Jeudy said. “I’m tired of leaning on the defense. It’s time for us to make some d— plays.”

Three turnovers, a flurry of untimely drops, difficulty protecting Joe Flacco and offensive stagnancy beyond the first scripted drive were the most notable negative contributions by the Cleveland offense on Sunday in Detroit.

The special teams made matters worse giving up a 65-yard punt return touchdown to Kalif Raymond.

But while the defense gave up 109 rushing yards, their worst mark of the season, that was the second-lowest total for the Lions. Detroit’s fewest rushing yards (46) came in a Week 1, a 27-13 loss to the Packers.

Also consider that their two-headed monster of Jahmyr Gibbs (91 yards, 15 carries, one touchdown) and David Montgomery (12 yards, nine carries) combined for 218 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 38-30 victory over the Baltimore Ravens last week.

But because of how good this defense is, it’s understandable that they still think they could have been better in this regard. The Browns gave up 46 yards in Week 1, 45 in Week 2, and 81 last week to the Packers.

“I think it was a little too much,” Delpit said. “We kind of knew Gibbs was going to bounce outside when he was in. We knew that 5 was more between the tackles runner, and we still let Gibbs bounce outside on a couple runs, and that’s pretty much where the bulk of the yards came from. So it’s not good enough.”

The Browns also managed to hold the Lions to 168 passing yards (all from Jared Goff), a season low. This was the first time Detroit had thrown for fewer than 200 yards in any individual game this season, and two weeks ago they threw for 334 yards against the Bears.

So total in Sunday’s game, the Lions finished with 277 net yards — while it’s the most anyone has put up against this Browns D yet this year, consider the Lions put up 511 against the Bears and 426 against the Ravens six days ago.

The Browns did also come up with a takeaway in this game, something that had been elusive in a four-game stretch dating back to last season before Delpit picked off Jordan Love last week. Ward picked off Goff on a ball intended for the speedy Jameson Williams, and returned it 13 yards to the Detroit 42-yard line in this matchup.

Cleveland and Schwartz did an excellent job of disguising their coverage on the play to make it look seamless for Ward at the 10:16 mark of the third quarter.

“That was our cover 8 invert,” Newsome said. “So on the snap, I went to the half and Ward came backside so he probably thought it was a quarters look. And we had two. We had Denzel coming on the opposite side, and I was over the top. So it was a great call by Jim.”

The biggest valid gripe with this defense on Sunday? It’s likely the fact that their front had no sacks. It’s the first time this year that’s happened, after recording three sacks against the Bengals, three against the Ravens, and five last week against the Packers.

But again, considering the Lions rushed the ball 29 times and Goff threw 27 passes, there’s still a somewhat reasonable explanation for that number too.

“The ability to run the ball,” Garrett said. “I think they got the ball out quickly and did a great job at holding the protection, chipping and slowing us down long enough to get the ball out. Then they weren’t in any hurry to get the ball out really when they protected with seven. But then when they protected with five or six, they were quick and they executed their plan very well.”

The good news for the 1-3 Browns is that frustrations among this unit haven’t completely boiled over.

They aren’t tossing blame around their locker room, and they’re still focused on doing their jobs at a high level.

The bad news for Cleveland? Just about everything else.

But no matter how long it takes Cleveland to navigate this rough offensive stretch, the defense says it remains ready to carry the load (even if Jeudy and others are rightfully sick of not pulling their own weight).

“As a defense, we’re dominant,” Newsome said. “We’re going to be dominant each week. So at the end of the day, it’s got to obviously figure stuff out on that side of the ball. And we know they will, but it’s easy to get them going because at the end of the day, we’re a dominant defense and we’re going to play dominant every single week.”

Sunday was another example of that, even amid the ugliness.

The Browns’ defense proved again it can stand tall. The question is how long it can keep standing alone.

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