Jarvis Landry playing through broken ribs could explain the Browns Week 6 performance

The Cleveland Browns poor performance and lackadaisical offensive output on Sunday could be explained by Jarvis Landry’s latest update. 

Following their 38-7 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns need to find that spark. The offense was a nightmare against the league’s top defense, only finishing with 210 total yards and allowing two turnovers.

But as bad as they looked, there could be a logical explanation outside of simply writing them off as terrible.

Jarvis Landry told reporters this week that he broke one of his ribs on a hit in the team’s victory over the Indianapolis Colts. During the opening drive, Landry caught a 32-yard reception. After the play, it was shown that the Pro Bowl receiver was crawling off the field to be examined by medical staff members. He’d return later in the afternoon and finish with four total catches for 88 yards.

Landry did not practice last week on Wednesday and Thursday and was limited on Friday during walkthroughs. Against the Steelers, he finished with three catches for 40 yards, averaging 13.3 yards per catch.

“It hurts, but depending on the play or whatever, at times, it’s bearable,” Landry said. “But we’ve done a good job of making sure that I’m getting protection here throughout the week and then making sure that I cover it up and do whatever I need to do to play on Sundays.”

Since entering the NFL in 2014, Landry has yet to miss a game with either the Miami Dolphins or Browns. This season, the former LSU target has collected 24 catches for 319 yards and averaged 13.3 yards per catch.

The Browns offense could be stalling due to Landry’s injury. The team is already missing one half of their top-rushing attack with Nick Chubb on the injured reserved. Outside of Landry, Odell Beckham Jr. and Austin Hooper, the Browns yet to have a receiver with more than eight catches on the year.