In an era of high-flying offenses and rules slanted toward yards and touchdowns, defense can be hard to come by. The amount of truly stalwart defenses in the league feels like they’re dwindling by the year, but the Cleveland Browns appear to have a unit that has ascended beyond the usual bend-but-don’t-break defenses that have been legislated into today's NFL.
The Browns have a defense that’s a legitimate weapon, one good enough to hand Brock Purdy the first regular-season loss of his career and the first loss of the 2023 season for the San Francisco 49ers.