Jacoby Brissett’s tenure as the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns is now over, and while he wasn’t exactly spectacular, he was certainly solid.
The team has gone 4-7 with him under center, but it could be argued that it lost a couple of games it should’ve won, and those losses weren’t really his fault.
Fans weren’t expecting a whole lot out of Brissett when this season started, but has he done more than they expected?
Brissett Helped Keep The Browns Afloat
In his 11 games as a starter, Brissett put up 2,608 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes and a passer rating of 89.1 while throwing just six interceptions.
Not too bad, especially considering that some fans and commentators were clamoring for the Browns to trade for the San Francisco 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo in order to give them a proven starting-caliber QB while Deshaun Watson was serving his 11-game suspension.
While he made some mistakes, he did about as well as a backup could do as a starter, and as a starter, Cleveland’s offense was not too shabby at all.
Jacoby Brissett led the #Browns offense to the #5 ranked unit thru his 12 weeks as QB1, per PFF. pic.twitter.com/FFYcssYxSF
— MoreForYouCleveland (@MoreForYou_CLE) November 28, 2022
Brissett is not a quarterback who will elevate a team’s offense and create plays seemingly out of thin air (which are things Watson is capable of), but he did hold things down well enough.
Blame The Defense
Four of the Browns’ losses this season have been by three points or fewer, and Cleveland’s defense has to get the lion’s share of the blame.
The team ranks 23rd in rushing yards allowed and 30th in rushing touchdowns and total points allowed.
In Week 5, the Browns allowed the Los Angeles Chargers, who have a weak running attack, to gain 238 yards on the ground, as Austin Ekeler exploded for 173 yards on just 16 attempts.
Now that Watson will be under center, Cleveland’s offense can at least partly make up for its defensive shortcomings and give it a chance to win more often.
NEXT: Nick Chubb Comments On Deshaun Watson's Return
