The Cleveland Browns are still without a win after four weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season, following a humiliating 20-16 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. This is just another disappointing week for the franchise.
The Browns, particularly their offensive line, had several inactive players when they arrived at the Raiders game on the road. The apparent upper-body injury that Cleveland cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. suffered during the game’s fourth quarter is adding to the team’s injury concerns.
According to Browns writer Kelsey Russo, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced following Cleveland’s loss that Emerson had entered the concussion protocol. Emerson’s performance was also lacking. Pro Football Focus’s analysis for Emerson indicates that his performance in Week 4 was the lowest of the season thus far. Against Las Vegas, he only received a 37.1 total rating. In Week 4, Raiders receivers completed 75% of their catches against the former Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive weapon, and he had just a 29.3 coverage rating. Following four weeks of play in the 2024 season, PFF awards Emerson a meagre 38.1 overall rating along with a subpar 34.7 coverage grade.
Emerson performed well, but the Browns will be hoping for a speedy recovery from this injury. Cleveland’s next two games are away to the quickly improving Washington Commanders in Week 5 and the Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Hurts in Week 6, which takes place in the City of Brotherly Love.
The Browns’ latest setback was mostly due to many factors than just Emerson’s subpar performance on the pitch against the Raiders. The first quarter saw the Browns take a 10-0 lead, but they would not score again until the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. The Browns’ subpar defensive performance between those two scoring bursts for Cleveland resulted in 268 total yards and two red-zone conversions to Las Vegas. Deshaun Watson was sacked three times for a loss of 27 yards, throwing for just 176 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Watson and the Browns had a difficult time, as evidenced by their injury-plagued offensive line. They also only had 92 running yards on 22 plays.
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