Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t need to perform at their best to defeat the Browns.
Herbert took advantage of two miscommunications in Cleveland’s defense, throwing two touchdown passes in the first half. The Chargers’ defense also played strongly against Jameis Winston, leading to a 27-10 win over the error-prone Browns.
Herbert threw for 250 of his 282 yards before halftime, helping the Chargers (5-3) build a 17-point lead and extend their winning streak over Cleveland (2-7) to five games.
“When everyone is on the same page, we can do things like that and push the ball down the field,” Herbert said, despite being sacked six times. “We made a big step in the first half and moved forward as an offense.”
He threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston and a 27-yarder to Joshua Palmer, taking advantage of the Browns’ defensive issues.
“You can put it all on me,” said Browns cornerback Denzel Ward, who was involved in both plays. “They were easy ones.” J.K. Dobbins added two rushing touchdowns for Los Angeles.
Herbert finished 18 of 27 and didn’t need to do much in the second half since the Chargers’ defense, which had been allowing a league-low 13 points per game, intercepted Winston three times and kept the Browns from gaining any momentum.
Winston was sacked six times, including 2.5 by linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu, and the Chargers held the Browns to just 57 yards in the first half. Rookie cornerbacks Tarheeb Still, Elijah Molden, and Alohi Gilman all had interceptions.
“We just go out there and chase perfection as much as possible,” said Still, who deflected a pass that Molden picked off in the end zone. “We are not going to be perfect, but we can get pretty close to it.”
With a solid lead, Herbert mostly played it safe in the second half as Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh relied on his running game to finish off the Browns. This was something his brother, John Harbaugh, the coach of the Baltimore Ravens, couldn’t achieve last week when they lost to Cleveland 29-24.
After the game, Harbaugh focused more on his personal ties to Ohio, where he spent a lot of his childhood, instead of discussing how easily his Chargers defeated the Browns.
“I felt a bit nostalgic today before kickoff. That doesn’t usually happen, but today it really hit me,” said Harbaugh, noting that his parents got married in Cleveland and went to a Browns game for their honeymoon.
“They stayed overnight in a hotel and then walked to the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium,” Harbaugh said. “Art Modell owned the team and gave free tickets to high school football coaches. My dad got some. The Harbaugh family’s roots run deep in Ohio.”
Both of Herbert’s touchdown passes came from mistakes in communication by Cleveland’s defense.
On the first touchdown, Palmer broke free down the right sideline for an easy score. The second touchdown happened when Johnston got behind Ward, who seemed to think safety Juan Thornhill was there to help.
“We’ve got to have all 11 guys on the same page,” said Thornhill, who didn’t want Ward to take all the blame. “We didn’t communicate well at all.”
Star defensive end Myles Garrett was the only standout for the Browns, getting three sacks in a quick four-play stretch in the first half. “What a great player, (No.) 95, my gosh,” said Harbaugh about Garrett. “He’s so good.”
The Browns spent a lot of the week talking about new hope after Winston replaced the injured Deshaun Watson last week and threw three touchdown passes for 334 yards to help the Browns surprise the Ravens.
But there was no magic for Winston this week; he was off target and ineffective. He did manage to throw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman in the last minute.
“We have to eliminate plays that hurt us,” Winston said. “I had three of them.” Herbert’s 27-yard scoring pass to Palmer was set up by a 53-yard punt return from Darius Davis to the Cleveland 30.
