Browns Stumbled In San Diego
By Joe Russo
Oct 4, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge (82) juggles a pass while diving into the end zone as San Diego Chargers strong safety
Jimmy Wilson(27) tries to break up the play in the fourth quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. After a video replay Barnidge was ruled to have made the catch and scored a touchdown to make the score 27-27. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
About The Browns
Would you believe that the Browns gained 432 yards today? Would you believe that McCown was 32-41 for 356 yards and two scores? Would you believe that his quarterback rating on the day was 119.1 and that he hit eight different receivers?
Crazy to think that on a day where the offense really showed they can accomplish something, it didn’t ultimately make a difference. After today’s showing, let’s hope the “Johnny” chants and criticism of the offense quiet down a bit. They didn’t lose the Oakland Raiders game and they certainly didn’t lose this one either.
Once again, penalties killed any momentum the Browns could muster. 12 penalties for 91 yards. Five of those penalties gave the Chargers first downs. Yet, none of them hurt more than CB Tramon Williams jumping off sides to negate Lambo’s missed field goal that would have sent this game into overtime. Hustle penalties happen but off sides and procedure penalties are mental mistakes that good teams and good players don’t make.
This team has got to figure out how to limit the self-inflicted wounds if they are to climb out of last place.
It was great to see Johnson featured in the offense today. He caught 9 passes for 85 yards and the explosive touchdown early on. Johnson is the type of complimentary back to Crowell that was missing from this offense. Johnson’s impact as a playmaker in space forced San Diego to cover the full field.
Even though Crowell only ran for 63 yards, he did so on only 12 carries and even had a big catch of his own. Look for this trend to continue despite their overall struggles in the run game. It really looks like the best offense the Browns have is one that features the pass far more than the run. Who would have thought?
Next: About The Chargers