Sometimes big things come out of little things.

 

Maybe – just maybe – that will be the case for the Browns in terms of their defense.

 

Through the first four games of the season, the defense played well just once, in a 28-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 2 in the home opener. In the other three contests, the Browns couldn’t stop anybody.

 

And for most of last Sunday’s visit to Baltimore, the defense struggled mightily.

 

Then, at the end of the game, which is the most important part since most NFL contests go down to the final minutes if not also the final seconds, the defense came up big. After letting the Ravens march down the field in chunks on their final possession of the fourth quarter, the Browns stiffened near the goal line and kept them from getting the game-winning touchdown. Baltimore was forced to settle for a field goal that tied the score at 30-30 and forced overtime.

 

The Ravens won the coin toss to start OT, but the defense continued its good play and forced them to go three plays and out – and to look bad doing it.

 

When the Browns got the ball, they drove down the field to set up Travis Coons to kick a field goal for a 33-30 win.

 

Was the play by the defense on those final snaps just a mirage, something that will be nowhere to be seen in next Sunday’s home game against the Denver Broncos?

 

Or was it a sign that things have bottomed out for the defense and that the group is ready to start getting better, if only little by little?

 

We won’t begin to learn the answers to those questions until Sunday, but for the time being, there’s finally something positive to say about the defense. And that’s a good thing.

 

This defense is likely never going to be the dominant unit that many people thought it would be heading into the season, but if it becomes just average and the offense, especially with the pass, keeps up its productivity, then this team will get better overall.

 

How much better? Who knows? But if a team isn’t getting better, then it’s getting worse.

 

And with a schedule that, following the visit by the 5-0 Broncos, includes, in order, games against the St. Louis Rams (2-3), Arizona Cardinals (4-1), Cincinnati Bengals (5-0), Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2), Ravens (1-4) and Bengals, the Browns sure can’t afford to be regressing in any phase of the game, lest they get run out of the stadium, literally and figuratively.