BEREA, Ohio — At 0-2 to start the season, the Cleveland Browns clearly have things to adjust. The defense is strong, evidenced against the Bengals and through most of the Ravens game. Special teams, aside from the punting prowess of Corey Bojorquez, need work. But it's the offense that has all eyes glued to the push for improvement—and perhaps one of the things most needed for the Browns to get right is the introduction of more explosive plays.
The NFL describes an explosive play as a pass play of 20 or more yards or a run play of 10 or more yards. Through the first two games of the season, the Browns have six explosive passing plays—the longest, however, just 26 yards, a pass to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy from quarterback Joe Flacco.
The sample size is small, and the Browns are at the start of a season rather than weeks in, but compared to Flacco's first-ever game as a Brown back in 2023, it's the same number. Flacco threw for six total explosive plays in his debut game with the Browns, the same number he has through two full games in 2025.
Explosives are something that come with the game flow, game plan and, of course, time, as head coach Kevin Stefanski explained on Wednesday.
“I think every week is a different challenge from a coverage standpoint, from a rush protection standpoint. And you have to find the schemes and obviously put the players in positions. There’s also times when you’re going to call those plays or try to get to those plays and the defense won’t allow you to. And that’s when you have to check the ball down and something you’ll see teams do and certainly we’ve done over the years when you make plays, when the defense takes away with the deep shots,"
The Browns have been taking what they've been given by opposing defenses. Sometimes, moving the chains 5-10 yards is enough. But with four total touchdowns in two games, none of which have been over 20 yards, should they be pressing for more explosives?
"Yeah, of course. I feel like, as an offense, that's what every offensive guy looks for. That one big play, that one spark that just gives the offense momentum and take advantage of that and I feel like we need that for sure," said wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on Wednesday.
Flacco would be the guy to get it done. The Browns are sticking with the veteran as their starter for the foreseeable future, so if they want the explosive plays to come, they'll do so off his arm.
For rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr., he thinks more deep shots could be a good thing for the offense and believes those plays will come.
"[Those are] big momentum switches. I feel like maybe we do need to take more of those kinds of shots or get more explosive plays. I feel, though, like I said before, we're this close, and Joe's going to do a good job of whatever it may be, taking those shots and things like that. But it's going to come. It's going to come. Just trust in the process and it's definitely going to come," Fannin said on Monday.
That kind of patience is how Flacco is approaching the matter. After throwing two interceptions in Week 1, with another pick and a fumble recovered for a touchdown in Week 2, Flacco will look to be smart about his approach to minimize the threat of turnovers. But while the offense continues gelling and working to get on the same page to create those explosive plays, the aggressiveness will be balanced with what is presented to the team by each opposing defense, which they don't see as a negative—but rather, a strategy.
"When you do call those plays, just don't just throw the ball up aimlessly. It’s still treated as a normal play and go through your read and if you have to take a check down, that's a good thing. I think it's just those reminders. I don't think it's necessarily, let's not try to do certain things. It's just little reminders that taking the checkdown and doing those sorts of things, getting a three-yard run, they aren't necessarily bad things," Flacco said.
