It won’t come as a surprise to most Cleveland Browns fans that their team will need to “run the damn ball” this season if they want it to be a successful season. Running the ball isn’t exactly a guarantee of success, but getting back to “grinding it out” will give the team a better shot at wins overall.
Last season, the Browns were terrible on the ground, landing themselves at No.29 overall compared to the rest of the NFL. They only averaged 95 yards a game, almost 100 yards less than the two teams (Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles) at the top of the league standings, who averaged close to 190 yards a game.
Back in 2023, Cleveland finished with an 11-6 regular season record and were ranked 13th overall in the run game. Between 2020 and 2022, they ranked fifth or fourth overall. They still weren’t successful in all those seasons as they were sub-500 with records at 7-10 and 8-9 in 2022 and 2021. But at least the records were better than the 3-14 record they had in 2024. Also, they did finish 11-5 in 2020 with a trip to the playoffs.
So while a successful run game doesn’t guarantee a winning record, at least the wins are more possible for the team.
Cleveland decided this offseason to reset the run game as they drafted two rookies and let Nick Chubb walk. The potential future NFL Hall of Famer was not offered a new deal by the team that was likely very attractive to him. Many fans of the team have expressed their disappointment with the decision not to pursue a new deal for the team’s previous heart and soul. However, the NFL is a business, and thus, we are where we are because of that, as Chubb has gone on to sign with the Houston Texans this season.
In now steps rookie Quinshon Judkins of Ohio State and rookie Dylan Sampson of Tennessee. Both had impressive college careers and should help this Cleveland team get back to the basics with a new and improved run game.
Last season, the team only averaged 23 run attempts per game compared to the 2023 season, where they averaged 30 carries a game.
If the Browns get back to running the ball 30 times a game with Judkins carrying the load of them, then this run game will support more team victories.
In Chubb’s best season with Cleveland, back in 2022, he carried the ball 302 times during the season and collected 1.525 rushing yards. If Judkins can get more than 250 carries and Sampson gets an additional 100 carries or more on the season, then the team would be moving in the right direction.
With the Browns’ coach Kevin Stefanski planning to return to a more “zone-scheme” offensive attack, I imagine that these projections are within reason.
Over Judkin’s college career, he has carried the ball 739 times over a 42-game stretch. That averages out to about 18 carries a game and 246 carries over a college season. For Sampson, he carried the ball 258 times last season for 1,491 yards with an impressive 5.8 yards per carry average.
The Browns seem to have gotten the memo that a return to “run the damn ball” is the best way forward. Does it spell a Super Bowl? Probably not, but it sure would be good for the team to get back to an identity of being a “run-first team” ready to challenge their opponent on Sunday.
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