Instant reaction: Browns lose on bad goal-line interception, 2 missed kicks
There were so many opportunities for the Cleveland Browns to come away as the winners against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5. Anytime your playcaller and offense get you in position to score seven separate times, there is no reason to lose. But at the end of the day, the Browns fell to the Chargers 30-28.
Even after quarterback Jacoby Brissett displayed horrible situational awareness and threw a goal-line interception when he could have run for the first down, the Browns were in great position to come away with the lead late in the game. Then the Browns defense bucked up and got a fourth-down stop, and the offense got into field goal range.
Rookie Cade York missed the potential game-winning 54-yarder, however — his second miss of the game. This is a hard game to pin on the playcaller, head coach Kevin Stefanski, as the Browns had plenty of opportunities to put points on the board.
The Browns continued to find success on the ground as Nick Chubb rushed for 134 yards and another pair of touchdowns. Kareem Hunt added another 47 yards and a touchdown on 11 touches.
Brissett played an overall fine game, but it was marred by the late interception. He finished 21-of-34 for 230 yards and a touchdown otherwise. Brissett found his two favorite targets — wide receiver Amari Cooper and tight end David Njoku — with frequency. Cooper had seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Njoku added another 88 yards on six catches.
Nobody cares about the stats, however, because the Cleveland defense continued to play poorly against the 30th-most efficient running attack coming into the game. They held Chargers QB Justin Herbert to just 228 yards through the air but allowed running back Austin Ekeler to scamper for 173 yards and a touchdown. The defense gave up 238 rushing yards in all.
The Browns must now prepare for the New England Patriots after dropping another winnable game and falling to 2-3 on the season.
