Those fans who are trying like the dickens to come up with a reason for optimism during the bye week, on the heels of a record-setting collapse against the Detroit Lion and moving into a road game against the New England Patriots, can take some solace in the fact that defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has a pretty nice recent history against Bill Belichick and the Pats.
Last season, as defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns, Ryan’s defense held the Patriots to just 283 yards. The Pats managed 19 first downs in that game, and were 3-of-11 on third down conversions. The Patriots’ running back duo of Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis could only muster 17 yards rushing.
The Browns won that game, 34-14.
“We just went out and executed our game plan,” said safety Abram Elam, who along with Kenyon Coleman followed Ryan to Dallas this offseason, per ESPN Dallas. “We gave them a bunch of different looks. We attack them and committed to not giving up the big play. That’s big with them. That’s a good offense. They find a hole and they do a good job of making adjustments, so you always have to stay ahead of the game with them.”
Like Dallas this season, the Browns faced the Patriots following their bye week. That said, here’s hoping we see some similar results.
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