The Honolulu Blueprint: 6 Keys to a Lions' Victory Over the Browns in Week 4
But here's where it gets controversial...
The Detroit Lions (2-1) and Cleveland Browns (1-2) will square off in a Week 4 interconference matchup. The Lions will be back home for this game, hoping to keep their winning streak going under the friendly dome of Ford Field. To do that, they’ll need to follow the keys to victory laid out in this week’s Honolulu Blueprint.
And this is the part most people miss...
Browns’ base schemes
For a detailed look at the opposing scheme, make sure you check out our complementary breakdown piece: Lions Week 4 Preview: Breaking down Browns’ offensive and defensive schemes.
Key 1: Target the intermediate level early
The Browns are a very good pass-rushing team, as their scheme is designed for this, and they currently have the NFL’s 10th-best pressure rate (37.6%), the third-most sacks (11), and the league’s best sack rate (11.8%). Perennial All-Pro EDGE Myles Garrett accounts for 4.0 sacks (second most in NFL), a 5.3% sack rate (third), 12 QB pressures (eighth), and 16% pressure rate (eighth). On average, Garrett gets pressure by 2.84 seconds, which is actually the slowest of the Browns’ starting four defensive linemen: EDGE Isaiah McGuire (2.57 seconds), DT Maliek Collins (2.64), and rookie DT Mason Graham (2.74).
The first step in slowing down the Browns’ attacking defense is to find quick, early success. The easiest way for the Lions to accomplish that is through their intermediate passing game. Entering this week, the Lions are the second most efficient team when passing to the intermediate area of the field, while the Browns rank 27th in efficiency in defending this area, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Overall, the Lions have the most efficient passing attack in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats, and quarterback Jared Goff is at his best when facing man coverage. Meanwhile, the Browns run more man coverage than any other team in the NFL. A highly favorable situation for the Lions, according to Next Gen Stats:
Against man coverage, Jared Goff has completed 19 of 23 passes for 168 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions this season. His completion percentage over expected (+21.4%), passing success rate (65.2%), and his expected points added per dropback (+0.86) when facing man all rank first among qualified passers.
The quickness of the Browns’ front will make throwing the deep ball early challenging, but by softening up coverage with success at the intermediate level, the Lions will open up opportunities for explosive plays both down the field and in the run game.
Key 2: Pin-Pull and Wham
The Browns have an incredibly impressive defensive front, and they’ve been thriving at stopping the run early in 2025. So far, Cleveland’s run defense checks in amongst the best in the NFL in the following categories:
- Rushing DVOA: No. 1
- Rushing yards allowed: 57.3 yards per game (1st)
- Rushing yards allowed per play: 2.3 yards (1st)
- Fewest 10+ yard explosive rushes: 2 (1st)
- Rush yards over expectations: -65 yards (1st)
- Yards before contact: -0.51 yards (1st)
- EPA per rush with -0.23 (3rd)
“They’re really good. They get after it, they’re relentless,” Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said of the Browns defense. “That’s the biggest thing that you see. I mean, it’s speed coming off the ball. They’re great technicians. We’ve got to be on top of our game.”
The Browns’ defensive line’s quickness off the ball is incredible, and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz weaponizes their speed with his attacking scheme. With Garrett commanding constant double teams, the Browns’ other linemen often draw one-on-one matchups, and they’ve been taking advantage.
But like every scheme in the NFL, no matter how Superman they look, they have their Kryptonite.
The Lions ran a ton of aone and duo blocking schemes against the Ravens (https://www.prideofdetroit.com/detroit-lions-analysis/143234/lions-film-breakdown-how-detroit-bullied-the-ravens-on-offense) on Monday night, but the beauty of the Lions’ scheme is that they have a plethora of blocking concepts that they introduce into their offensive scheme. The week prior, against Chicago, the Lions incorporated other concepts like Pin-Pull and Wham blocks to slow down the Bears’ aggressive front.
Pin-Pull
“Pin-Pull (https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2024/1/26/24049186/honolulu-blueprint-keys-victory-detroit-lions-san-francisco-49ers-nfc-championship-nfl-playoffs) ” is one of the most effective ways to slow down a get-upfield-at-all-costs defensive front. For this concept, the Lions line up in a bunch formation—which they do often, so they don’t tip their hands—and bring a wide receiver or tight end tight with the offensive line. At the snap, one of the skill players crashes down on the defensive line’s edge player, changing the angle of his block and hopefully catching him by surprise. As the skill player “pins” the defender, the offensive lineman (and in the case below, also the tight end) “pulls” around the “pin” and creates a new rushing alley outside of the defensive line. Effectively using their aggression against them.
Here’s an example from Week 2, where Amon-Ra St. Brown is the “pin” and Penei Sewell and Brock Wright are the “pull” — Note, we also see Kalif Raymond (yellow) being motioned across, also removing a defender, but more on that later:
Wham
A “Wham” block is another way to execute a “Trap” block by using an offensive skill player to get an advantageous blocking angle on an aggressive defensive lineman, ideally opening up a significant hole for the running back to create an explosive play.
In the example below, the Lions use Wright (red) to “Wham” block the defensive tackle, freeing up Sewell to attack the outside edge, and with Tate Ratledge now freed up to block left, Graham Glasgow has a clear path to the second level where he can wall off the linebacker. Additionally, Kalif Raymond (yellow) crashes down on the safety, who has eyes in the backfield and doesn’t see him coming to seal the edge. Jahmyr Gibbs rushes for 42 yards on this play.
As you may have noticed in both examples, the rushing windows are tight, and these plays require a few things in order to work effectively. First, teams need strong and athletic offensive linemen, which is why the Lions like to run these concepts behind Sewell. They also need a running back who can get north-south quickly, and as we learned on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football”, Jahmyr Gibbs gets to the line of scrimmage faster than any other back in the NFL (https://x.com/erikschlitt/status/1971374463276155138) . Finally, teams also need offensive skill players who can be trusted to be effective blockers in space, and the Lions arguably have the best group in the NFL (https://x.com/danorlovsky7/status/1971318033407934676) .
“It’s the best I’ve ever seen. My 28 years of coaching, the way these wide receivers block, the way (wide receivers coach) Scottie (Montgomery) gets these guys to play [...] I mean, they get after it, they take pride in it,” Morton said on Thursday. “I always told the wideouts, man, when the tight ends and the O-line and backs, they’re blocking for us, when the time comes, our turn to block for them, we’ve got to do the same thing. That’s the beauty about this team. Nobody cares about how many balls this and that. It’s just about winning. And when we do that, man, we’re pretty good.”
While Pin-Pull and Wham blocks can create explosive plays when utilized correctly, they can’t be the foundation of a rushing scheme. The Lions will still need to run, Zone and Duo, as well as Gaps and Traps, but the beauty of the Lions’ offensive line is that they have the skill sets to execute all those concepts.
Our front, right now, we’re moving guys. I don’t think they’ve seen a run game like ours yet,” Morton continued. “We have patience. We stick with it. I think that’s the biggest thing. Let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
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