There is no doubt that the Los Angeles Rams all but laid down on Saturday as they focused on keeping everyone healthy, but even against the second team offense, the Cleveland Browns’ starting defensive unit was dominant on Saturday afternoon.
Alex Wright had a phenomenal sack on the goal line, and Dresser Winn was 0 for 4 for negative 6 yards while the Browns had starters on the field. The only success the Rams had was on an end-around play where they did break containment on the Browns’ defensive edge.
Myles Harden drops a pick, Alex Wright a sack at the 1/4 inch line to blow #Rams second offensive series up for #Browns D
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) August 23, 2025
Carson Schwesinger and Isaiah McGurie both had quarterback pressures, and McGurie’s forced an errant throw that is intercepted 99 out of 100 times in the NFL.
#Browns Joe Flacco done after 3 drives and 17 snaps, put a TD on the board, 15 pass to Harold Fannin. 9/10, 71 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 129.6 rating.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 23, 2025
Flacco ended his day going 9 of 10 for 71 yards and a touchdown, which looks phenomenal on paper, but it wasn’t necessarily as good on film. The first drive was a three-and-out, the second a touchdown on a short field, and the third drive was ended by a sack after there was a little bit of momentum.
Browns GM Andrew Berry called TE Harold Fannin Jr. the “queen on the chessboard” after they drafted him.
Fannin catches his first NFL TD lined up like a wide receiver. Cleveland loves his versatility. pic.twitter.com/oDZ2wXVFMD
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) August 23, 2025
It’s still a positive for the offense, but still a few things to clean up before Week 1. But it was great to see Harold Fannin get involved early. They set him up for a phenomenal skinny post touchdown, and also attempted to get him the ball on a screen play that didn’t develop as planned.
By no means is it fair to judge today’s starters, as it was a vanilla offense and against many second and even third-stringers for the Rams, but still a huge positive and confidence booster for them to play as well as they did in their final action before the regular season starts.
