Nick Chubb produced his fourth 100-yard rushing day in five games. (Cleveland Browns)
Cade York's field goal miss from 54 yards seals Browns' 30-28 loss
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Instant takeaways from Browns 30-28 loss to Los Angeles Chargers …
1. Aloha, Browns: Like two heavyweights trading haymakers on offense, the Browns and Chargers went back-and-forth all day. But when the Browns needed it most, they came up short. Jacoby Brissett threw an interception in the end zone with 2:44 to play and Cade York missed a 54-yard field goal try with 11 seconds left to wrap up a 30-28 Browns loss. The Browns failed to take advantage of Chargers coach Brandon Staley’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Chargers’ 45 with 1:14 to play. Justin Herbert’s pass for Mike Williams was broken up by M.J. Emerson. The Browns could only advance to the 36 to set up York’s game-winning try. He also missed from 45 yards earlier in the game. All four of York's missed kicks -- two field goals, two PATs -- have come in FirstEnergy Stadium.
2. Something positive: Yes, the Browns were chewed up for more than 200 yards on the ground for the second game in a row. But the defense had three goal-line stands inside the 10. They forced the Chargers to kick short field goals of 28, 25 and 27 yards. The last one put the Chargers ahead, 30-28, with 9:29 to play.
3. Whew: A goal-line stand by the Browns in the third quarter resulted in a 25-yard Chargers field goal and Los Angeles’ biggest lead, 27-21. Could the Browns’ offense respond? Yes, it did. Brissett hooked up three times with Donovan Peoples-Jones to help move 75 yards in 11 plays. Kareem Hunt’s 2-yard vault over the goal line gave the Browns a 28-27 lead. That’s where it stood heading into the fourth quarter.
4. Sloppy tackling: Austin Ekeler entered the game averaging 3.1 yards per rush. After his 22-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, these were his stats: 9 attempts, 138 yards, 15.3 average. That included a 71-yard run. Ekeler’s TD run was right through the middle of the Browns’ defense. A face-mask penalty by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah added salt to the wound.
5. Sneak this: On the Browns’ next possession, they faced fourth-and-1 at their 34. A QB sneak, right? The Browns brought in Michael Dunn and Hjalte Froholdt as tackles-eligible. Suspecting the sneak, no doubt, the Chargers called time and re-set their defense. The Browns responded by taking Froholdt off the field. But instead of the QB sneak, they ran a handoff to Kareem Hunt, who was stuffed for a 4-yard loss. Brissett had been 33 of 34 on quarterback sneaks in his career.
5. Catch your breath: The first half picked up where the high-scoring slugfest of the two teams left off a year ago in Los Angeles. A York missed field goal from 45 yards – wide right, never a chance – left the Browns ahead at halftime, 21-17. The Chargers made up a 14-0 deficit to go ahead, 17-14, then the Browns reclaimed the lead. Both teams had six possessions and 15 first downs. The Browns led in total yards, 280-268, and were averaging 8.5 yards a play to the Chargers’ 7.7. The Chargers had 135 yards on the ground. Their season average entering the game was 64 – for a whole game.
6. That’s more like it: After brain-locking by targeting Amari Cooper only four times in Atlanta, the Browns acknowledged that error by writing Cooper prominently in their early play script. Brissett delivered to Cooper on a slant route on the second play of the game. That drive lasted only five plays because of a 41-yard TD jaunt by Nick Chubb. On the Browns’ second series, Cooper was featured three times and had receptions of 20, 6 and 11 yards. The last one came in the end zone on a great Cooper cut to the outside left corner. In the first half, Cooper was targeted nine times and had five catches for 62 yards.
7. Record that won’t be matched: After a 61-yard punt by Corey Bojorquez was expertly downed at the Chargers’ 1 by Emerson, you might think the Browns had Herbert right where they wanted him. Not. Herbert coolly engineered a 99-yard drive, getting the TD on a 12-yard screen to Ekeler. The Browns helped Herbert two plays earlier with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a Herbert keeper when safety John Johnson tossed his helmet to the ground, apparently protesting a non-call on Ekeler for an alleged illegal block on linebacker Jacob Phillips. Browns coaches on the bench were visibly angered by the non-call.
8. What run defense: The Chargers entered the game having given up a run of 50+ yards in three consecutive games. It almost happened again on Chubb’s third attempt. From the Chargers’ 41, Chubb followed the lead block of pulling guard Joel Bitonio, broke one, two, three tackles, made a great cut inside, and finished with a stiff-arm inside the 5 for a 41-yard TD run. It was Chubb’s longest scoring run of the season and his sixth overall. Chubb added his seventh TD run with 2:55 left in the half following a lead block of tackle-turned-fullback Hjalte Froholdt. At that point, Chubb had 95 yards on nine attempts in the first half.
9. Fire Joe … wait, no: When Ekeler ripped off a 71-yard run on first down – Greg Newsome saved the TD by running him down at the 4 – Twitter went crazy with “Fire Joe Woods” rants. Here’s what happened next: Sony Michel was stuffed for no gain, Herbert's throw for tight end Tre’ McKitty skittered into the end zone grass, left tackle Jamaree Salyer false-started, and Herbert threw wildly for tight end Donald Parham. Chargers coach Brandon Staley, who failed on a fourth-and-2 from the Browns’ 28 earlier, chose to kick a field goal. The three-pointer from 28 yards was the first ever in an NFL game for emergency kicker Taylor Bertinet, who’s on his ninth NFL team plus ones in the AAF, CFL and USFL.
10. Golden anniversary: Before the game, the Browns presented Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald with a No. 50 jersey bearing his name to celebrate his 50th anniversary with the Lake County newspaper. Schudel has been writing about the Browns since 1981, making him the longest-running active scribe covering the team.
11. Pre-game notes: As expected, both Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney were active. Their availability enabled the Browns to use one of their two practice squad elevations on punt returner Chester Rogers, which made Demetric Felton inactive. The Chargers were forced to de-activate kicker Dustin Hopkins with a quad injury. They scrambled during the week to sign Bertolet as a replacement kicker. Bertolet has been with eight previous NFL teams but never kicked in a game. Bertolet, an undrafted free agent in 2016, has also been with teams in the AAF, CFL and USFL.
