How The Cleveland Browns’ Defense Can Survive Without Myles Garrett And Denzel Ward

The Cleveland Browns, without question, are down their two best defenders with defensive end Myles Garrett on the COVID-19 list — ruling him out for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars — and corner Denzel Ward out ‘a few weeks’ with a calf injury. A third key defender — safety Ronnie Harrison — could also miss Sunday’s game due to a knee contusion, but his absence would be much less impactful than Garrett or Ward.

Garrett and Ward are the Browns’ defense in a lot of ways. Garrett provides the bulk of the team’s pass rush and commands so much attention that his fellow defensive lineman are more likely to get one-on-one opportunities than not. With Garrett out, it’s a lot easier to scheme up effective blocking against the Browns. Cleveland is not Pittsburgh, where T.J. Watt has the benefit of playing with Bud Dupree, Cam Hayward and several other elite defenders. Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon and other Browns are solid, but not at that level.

And not every team will have as porous of an offensive line as the Philadelphia Eagles ( the NFL’s 17th-ranked unit according to Football Outsiders) or a quarterback who holds onto the ball as much as Carson Wentz does. Teams like the Titans and Steelers will make life hard.

Ward, meanwhile, has been one of the best corners in the league all season. He leads the league in passes defended with 15 and is making plays on blitzes and in the open field too. Whatever is thrown at him, Ward handles. And while teams will throw at him, it occurs far, far less often than teams throwing elsewhere. When he’s on the field, Ward is the one secondary spot that that can be banked. Harrison has shown flashes, but he’s not as consistent not at the level of Ward.

While they are out, there isn’t an obvious replacement. Vernon played out of his mind on Sunday, picking up three sacks and Adrian Clayborn played arguably his best game of the game of the year. If they, and Porter Gustin, can do enough on the edge against a 1-9 Jacksonville team, Cleveland can survive another week. Missing Garrett is never ideal, but if there’s a week to do it, this is it.

In the secondary, Harrison being healthy would be good news. Otherwise, the Browns almost have to hope Garrett can come back and have no lingering affects from COVID and that the pass rush can make life easier on the secondary. If there’s one wild card, it’s 2019 second-round pick Greedy Williams. Williams hasn’t played yet this year due to a shoulder injury, but he’s eligible to come off IR if cleared. What his status is and how good he’d even be are unknown right now, but having him would be better than not.

“I think Greedy is trying very, very hard,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said Nov. 11, per Browns.com. “He is rehabbing. He is attacking his rehab. We are just hoping that things continue to progress more.”

If there’s good news, it’s that neither player is done for the year. Garrett could be back against the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 6 — a key game that likely will play a direct role in determining the Browns’ place in the playoff picture. Ward, while likely to miss the Titans game and a Dec. 14 Monday night game against the Baltimore Ravens, should be back before the end of the regular season. If he can be back by Dec. 27 against the New York Jets, that would give him at least one game before the regular season finale on Jan. 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and, just maybe, the playoffs.