Jarvis Landry was the playmaker the passing game needed vs JAX

The Cleveland Browns are 8-3 after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in a close battle. It wasn’t a perfect game by the Browns with both sides of the ball making mistakes. But, the Browns got the win and that is all that matters at this point. There were many stars of the game, but one of the biggest stars on offense was wide receiver Jarvis Landry. Landry had eight catches for 143 yards and a touchdown.

In today’s Browns film room, I will take a look at Landry’s big day versus the Jaguars. Roll the tape!

Q1 6:26 1st-and-10: Mayfield to Landry for 21 yards

This is an excellent play call and play design by Kevin Stefanski. It is a play-action naked bootleg pass against a super-aggressive Jaguars defense. The run fake action sucks in the entire defense to the right side of the field. When Mayfield rolls back out to the left, there are only three defenders able to retreat to that side of the field. The streak route by receiver Rashard Higgins, who is lined up on the left side of the field, takes the two-deep defenders with him, leaving the left inside linebacker in a tough dilemma. Tight end Austin Hooper is crossing over to the left in the intermediate level of the field. But, the wrinkle in this is that the Browns also sneak Landry across the field in the underneath level. The linebacker picks up Hooper, but that leaves Landry wide open to get the pass and make a big play after the catch. The Browns strong run game helped this play run so smoothly because the threat of the run caused the Jags to completely oversell to defend the run.

Q1 3:47 2nd-and-5: Mayfield to Landry for five-yard TD

This is a simple play-action pass with Landry being targeted with a back-shoulder throw. The run fake does its job once again. It freezes the defense and it causes single coverage and space for the two passing targets on the left side of the field. Landry had to get through traffic at the snap, but he quickly gets righted and heads to the back of the endzone. The coverage is very tight on Landry, but the cornerback takes an inside position on Landry. With space and single coverage, Mayfield takes advantage. He throws behind Landry to shield the pass away from the defender. It is a perfectly placed pass and Landry makes a great adjustment to bring it in for a touchdown.

Q2 10:01 2nd-and-6: Mayfield to Landry for 27 yards

Here is another play-action naked bootleg pass play. Landry runs a perfectly timed and crisp deep post route. As with the previous two plays, the run fake causes much of the defense to bite and suck to the side of the run. This leaves a lot of space in the secondary. When Mayfield heads back to the left, Landry corresponds with a nice subtle move in route. Landry fakes a move to the left, causing both the corner covering him and the safety over top to bite left. But, Landry heads back to the right and across the field, leaving the safety stumbling behind and corner trailing a couple of steps. Mayfield is able to stop his momentum to the left, get square, and fire a great strong ball to Landry. The pass is accurate and is uncontested by the defender due to the great route by Landry. Landry’s timing of his fake to the left was perfect coinciding with Mayfield rolling back out to the left.

Q2 2:40 2nd-and-1: Mayfield to Landry for 23 yards

This is Mayfield’s best pass of the game. It is another play-action pass. The first part of this play to notice is Landry’s route. He is running an intermediate out route. He is getting covered by single off-man coverage, but there is a linebacker in underneath zone who the Browns also have to deal with. Landry, though, takes the linebacker out of the play by a beautiful fake at the top of his route. Landry fakes a move to the inside, causing the linebacker to bite inside and take himself out of the play. So, it leaves the cornerback as the only one to deal with here. However, the corner has excellent coverage and is right on Landry’s inside shoulder. Mayfield beats that great coverage with a perfect pass. He throws it to the outside back shoulder of Landry. Mayfield gets the ball over the corner’s outstretched arms and right in stride to Landry. It was an elite level pass.

Q2 1:55 3rd-and-6: Mayfield to Landry for 15 yards

This is a third down play where the Browns need six yards. The Browns are in a shotgun with four out wide. Before the snap, Landry motions to the left side of the line, creating a bunch set of three receivers on that side. It is single coverage on all three receivers, but Landry is covered in off-man coverage due to the motion and the two other receivers on that side receiving press coverage. This cushion makes Landry the No. 1 option for Mayfield. Landry is running an in route with his break coming right at the first down marker. Mayfield lets the pass go right when Landry gets out of his break. The ball is perfect and right in stride for Landry to catch and head upfield for a good gain.

Q3 1:35 2nd-and-10: Mayfield to Landry for 14 yards

This is a bit of a dangerous pass by Mayfield. Landry is running an out route while he is being covered in single off-man coverage. Mayfield stares Landry down from the snap, leading the corner to bite quickly on the throw. Though, Mayfield saves himself a bit by firing the pass quickly with good timing. Even with the quick timing, the corner is still in a position to make a play on the ball. But, Landry shows strong hands and concentration to grab the ball and keep it away from the corner who had a hand in there. Landry rips it away and is able to turn and head upfield for a few more yards. Landry saved Mayfield because of his strong hands.

Q4 10:55 2nd-and-11: Mayfield to Landry for 19 yards

This was probably one of the most important throws of the game given that the Browns were backed up against the Jaguars’ goal line. The play is another play-action pass.¹ Once the fake is done, Mayfield turns around and begins looking at the right side of the field. This quick glance moves the linebackers to flow to the right. That glance is important because it allows ample space for Landry’s route on the left side. Landry is performing a stick route from his spot in the left slot. But, Landry is closely covered when he turns around to the line of scrimmage. Landry, though, notices the corner covering him from his back outside shoulder, so Landry heads inside to get a bit of separation. This is where Mayfield takes it home with another elite level throw. He fires it to the back inside shoulder of Landry with great zip. The pass is just out of reach by the corner who tries to come underneath to deflect it. And, Landry makes the strong catch to bring huge completion. It was a great play by Mayfield and Landry.

Q4 9:30 2nd-and-8: Mayfield to Landry for 19 yards

This final play is a good play by Landry. He is running a post route on the right side of the field. He is being covered in single off-man coverage. When Landry gets behind the two inside defenders, he cuts inside for the post route. Mayfield fires the pass to Landry. After Landry catches it, he changes course to head back outside to run upfield. This leaves the corner off balance and allows Landry to gain a few extra yards after the catch.

Random Thoughts

• The Browns did not win in the easiest of fashions. But, they got the win in a game they were supposed to win. That is all you need to do. Look at Las Vegas. They had the same situation as Cleveland. They were facing Atlanta in a game that they should win. But, they lost. Moral of the story is this: There are no certain wins in the NFL. Any win is good enough in my book.
• Mayfield had one of his best games of the season, but he still has work to do. He showed in quite of few throws and plays that he has the elite ability we saw coming out of college. But, he is still in the midst of inconsistencies, especially with his accuracy. He made a couple throws that were dumbfounding given how easy they were and how off he was on them. He needs to limit these inconsistencies. He already has done well limiting his turnover worthy throws, so I think he can fix this. His improvement has been clearly seen in my eyes. I am optimistic about his future.
• The Browns run game continues to be their closer. Nick Chubb was excellent again for the Browns and the ability to use both Hunt and Chubb is allowing the Browns run game to be dominant in the second half. The run game, both runners and blockers, just wear teams down. I love that the Browns have an identity finally. It has been a long time since Cleveland had a winning identity.
• On defense, the Browns sustained their bend but don’t break defense. They were able to force three field goals even though they gave up a lot of yards to the Jags. It is not pretty, but the Browns defense has gotten the job done for the most part over the past couple of weeks.
• The Browns got great news regarding Myles Garrett returning. He is the key to the defense and the best player on the roster. The Browns defense needs him on the field, so it is great to get him back. But, the team received some bad news, too. Ronnie Harrison will be out for a month or so. That is a crushing blow to the secondary. He was one of the few playing well back there.
• This week is a huge test for the Browns when they face Tennessee. It is sort of like looking at a mirror in terms of style. Both teams possess a great running game that is the centerpiece of their offense. They have both have average to below-average defenses. It should be fun to see these two take the field. I think it may come down to the quarterbacks and who performs the best of the two.

1. I’m sensing a theme here. [↩]