It was a very successful day for the Cleveland Browns’ defense in their second preseason game. Without the starters, many of the depth players were able to get meaningful reps against the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Browns’ defense only surrendered one touchdown, which was set up by a Dillon Gabriel fumble at the Cleveland 31-yard line. Most of the Browns’ success came from a dominant performance by the defensive line. This was well represented in the defensive PFF grades from the game, which included five defensive linemen scoring in the top ten overall grades.
The Browns had four players with overall PFF grades of 80.0 or higher. Among them were projected starting defensive end Isaiah McGuire, with an 86.7, and linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, with an 84.3. Cleveland’s secondary was also represented thanks to the performance of strong safety Donovan McMillon, who earned an impressive 79.6 overall grade in his 37 snaps played.
Now, let’s take a look at the PFF top 10 overall graded players on the Browns’ defense against the Eagles:
CB Christian Holmes
Overall grade: 87.0
Coverage grade: 85.9
DE Isaiah McGuire
Overall grade: 86.7
Run defense grade: 65.1
Pass rush grade: 81.4
LB Easton Mascarenas-Arnold
Overall grade: 86.7
Run defense grade: 65.1
Pass rush grade: 81.4
LB Jerome Baker
Overall grade: 81.0
Run defense grade: 78.3
Coverage grade: 63.8
SS Donovan McMillon
Overall grade: 79.6
Run defense grade: 69.7
Coverage grade: 73.9
DT Jowonn Briggs
Overall grade: 79.1
Run defense grade: 79.0
Pass rush grade: 58.5
DT Adin Huntington
Overall grade: 78.1
Run defense grade: 60.3
Pass rush grade: 76.2
DT Shelby Harris
Overall grade: 78.1
Run defense grade: 62.2
Pass rush grade: 79.7
DE Julian Okwara
Overall grade: 73.4
Run defense grade: 74.7
Pass rush grade: 60.5
CB Myles Harden
Overall grade: 73.1
Run defense grade: 69.3
Coverage grade: 68.6
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns PFF Grades: How did the defense perform against the Philadelphia Eagles?
Reporting by Owen O’Connor, Browns Wire / Browns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
