The Cleveland Browns have been widely regarded as having the best defense in the NFL in 2023. It was an integral part of DE Myles Garrett’s Defensive Player of the Year campaign. “The best player on the best defense”, we heard time and again to explain away his inferior traditional statistics.
But in what sense were the Browns the best defense in the NFL? It’s a question that I can’t help but keep coming back to. Yes, they gave up the fewest yards in the NFL. That much is true. Nobody else was really close, though no defense was on the field for fewer plays, either.