Browns v. Chargers observations

The Browns fell to the Chargers 47–42 in a wild back and forth game that set records, some better for teams than others. So much to untangle here I had to sleep on a few things to figure out what the hell went wrong. So here we go

• If you came away from this game thinking the offense is the problem, I don’t know what to tell you. The offense wasn’t the problem yesterday. Yes, I know the last two possessions had a LOT to be desired, but in the end when you put up 42 points you should win, regardless of what level you are playing (HS, college, NFL).
• The defense came back to earth if not crashed through. How does one unit go from giving up 7 points to 47 in one week? I knew the Chargers would be step up in competition, but christ, some of their scoring plays, the guys were WIDE open, and it wasn’t any fancy route running or play calling. Some will say, well Clowney was hurt, Ward went out with injury, but still, giving up 47 points a week after you gave up 7? This was supposed to be a unit that would be vastly improved. Again I will go there, the coaching and schemes are the problem.
• All Browns fans will go after that 4th and 4 PI call that was rather shady. I will counter with the 4th and 8 later in game when Garrett was out (injury-briefly) and Browns still rushed 4 guys, half who were random backups. No blitzes no late pressure, Herbert has time to complete pass over the middle. Constant 3rd downs, picking up first downs. Again as the above showed, Chargers wide receivers WIDE OPEN on FOUR scoring plays. There wasn’t a Brown near them, such broken coverage you had to wonder what happened.
• Here’s the thing, the defense is still Myles Garrett and coaches depending on him to be supernatural every game. The Maliks (McDowell and Jackson) show up, JOK as well, but outside of that, I mean Greedy played decent, AJ Green (who came in for Denzel) played admirably but other guys like JJ3 and Ronnie Harrison and Anthony Walker just had to play better and they didn’t. Delpit I’m not sure what his final stats where but he seemed lost when I watched. The defense is a problem, again, and there was no reason, for how good the Chargers were, to give up 47 points.
• It appears Stefanski publicly blames himself and possibly privately, but constantly going for it on 4th down is now under 50%. Not taking quick points on the road is becoming annoying (the Browns only would have needed a field goal at the end had they taken one earlier, instead of turning it over on downs), the weird play calling at end of games (even Vikings was overly aggressive) today’s was overly passive. Not having Chubb AND Hunt on field at same time is perplexing, especially in this game when they were both on fire. Stefanski is facing some heat now and I’m sure things will be fine, but another game against elite competition and the team seems to still crack under pressure late.
• Things won’t get easier, the Browns play the Cardinals next who are the league’s hottest team. Granted its at home, but its same thing- running quarterback, wide open offense, solid defense. Browns haven’t lost two in a row under Stefanski. Going to be another challenge, but this team has to be more consistent to start games and end games. They have to recognize what is working on offense and go after it aggressively, they have to take the points when they are there, they HAVE to be much smarter and more aggressive and consistent on defense. If one wants to be a contender, can’t give up 47 points in a game. GO BROWNS!!