CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Last week Jameis Winston giveth. Sunday against the Chargers he taketh away.
Winston threw three interceptions while Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw a pair of touchdowns and J.K. Dobbins rain for two scores in Los Angeles’ 27-10 win over the Browns Sunday afternoon at Huntington Bank Field.
“We knew that team that we’re going up against was preying on takeaways early in the season,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “So, we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”
Here’s the rest of this batch of Brownie Bites from an ugly Week 9.
That’s a wrap – Sunday’s loss was the sixth in seven games and seventh in nine, which should effectively end any contention talk for the duration of the season after the bye week. It was also proof positive no matter who is calling plays or at quarterback, the Browns offense is downright putrid and will require an offseason demolition and reconstruction.
Communication breakdown – Herbert got the Chargers on the board first with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer, who was wide open in the end zone, on third-and-20 with 6:49 to play in the first quarter. “You can put it on me,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “It was blown coverage on both of them. So we just got to be better. That's the biggest thing.” The touchdown came on the sixth play of the drive after Chargers returner Derius Davis ripped off a 53-yard punt return to the Cleveland 30. With just over 8 minutes to play in the second quarter Herbert found receiver Quentin Johnston alone up the far sideline for a 66-yard touchdown and a 13-3 Chargers lead. “It is frustrating because we better than that,” Ward said. “I mean this is probably one of the first times that we even had blown coverages really all year. But we know we could get it fixed and we know we could be a better defense and better team out there and we definitely go work to get it fixed though.” Safety Juan Thornhill refused to let Ward take the blame. “It wasn't all on Denzel,” Thornhill said. “I'm a safety, I'm supposed to communicate with him as well. I have to make sure he gets those checks. Even if he, he's not looking at, I have to find a way to get those calls to him, so I would never put that on Denzel. It is all 11 of us. It's never just on him.”
Take Charge – J.K. Dobbins blew through the middle of the Browns defense for a 16-yard touchdown with 3:30 to play in the first half to put L.A. up three scores, 20-3. Dobbins added a 7-yard score with 4:16 remaining to provide the Chargers with their final points of the afternoon.
Hat trick – Myles Garrett’s sackless streak ended after four games as he registered his fifth and sixth sacks of the season for a combined loss of 14 yards with less than a minute to play in the first quarter. Garrett dropped Herbert again with under 9 minutes to play in the second quarter. “I’d rather have no sacks at every game than to continue losing like we are,” Garrett said. “The stats are what they are, but I’d rather win every time. So, it’s frustrating as hell.” It was Garrett’s fourth career game with at least three sacks and he is 4.5 sacks away from 100 in his career.
Seeing red – The Browns first trip to the red zone was thwarted thanks to a third down sack by Chargers Morgan Fox coming out of Cleveland’s first timeout of the half. The loss of eight forced the Browns to settle for a 38-yard field goal from Dustin Hopkins with 9:30 remaining in the first half. To begin the third quarter, the Browns drove into the red zone again. Winston picked up a first down on fourth-and-1 at the 6 with a 2-yard keeper before throwing an interception on second-and-goal. Chargers safety Elijah Molden picked the pass intended for Jerry Jeudy in the back corner of the end zone off a deflection from cornerback Tarheeb Still. “I have played this game for a long time and that play is still living in my head,” Winston said. “I have to make a better ball right there. If we finish, if we score right there, the momentum changes and this game probably has a different outcome.” Still got his interception of Winston with under 11 minutes to play.
Tillman time – Receiver Cedric Tillman made a sensational 17-yard touchdown catch with 44 seconds remaining to give the Browns their lone touchdown of the afternoon. “He made an amazing, amazing grab,” Winston said. “That’s what he’s capable of doing. So I’m happy that we were able as an offense to finish with a touchdown.” Tillman got both toes down as he fell out of bounds on the near sideline for the score.
More miscommunication – Winton’s second interception in the third quarter came as the result of a miscommunication with receiver Elijah Moore. Chargers safety Alohi Gilman slid down to pick it at the 14 and he returned 18 yards out to the 32. Winston, looking for Moore again, got picked for a third time.
Not so special teams – Not only did the Browns give up a big punt return to set up a score, but another touchdown was also set up off a blocked 51-yard field goal by Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart. “We have to play better on all three sides of the ball,” Stefanski said. “We got to coach better on all three sides of the ball, but we own it. It’s all of us.”
Honoring Jim – The Browns honored late broadcaster Jim Donovan with a decal on the lower back right on their helmets. Donovan’s picture was added to the Browns ‘in memoriam’ wall in the press box as well.
Dawg Pound captain – Former kick returner and receiver Josh Cribbs smashed the guitar prior to the opening kickoff.
Inactives – QB Bailey Zappe (third quarterback), RB D’Onta Foreman, LB Jordan Hicks, T Germain Ifedi, DT Quinton Jefferson
