Browns vs. Chargers: Cleveland Grades, Notes and Quotes

The Cleveland Browns were hurt by 11 penalties during their Week 4 loss to San Diego, but the last one killed them.

San Diego Chargers kicker Josh Lambo somehow missed a 39-yard field goal that would have won the game in the closing seconds. Overtime, right? Not when the Browns are involved.

Veteran free-agent acquisition Tramon Williams tried jumping the field-goal snap and was clearly across the line of scrimmage as the Chargers snapped the ball, prompting an offside penalty, Cleveland’s 12th accepted penalty of the game.

The rookie kicker didn’t miss on his next try, hitting right down the middle from 34 yards as time expired.

Cleveland drops to 1-3 after a game that was very winnable.

Trailing by eight with 7:25 left to play, Josh McCown and the Browns easily drove down the field against the depleted Chargers secondary. A miraculous reviewed-and-reversed catch by Gary Barnidge set them up at San Diego’s 1-yard line. McCown found Barnidge two plays later to bring them within two points.

Then, on a beautifully designed play, McCown hit Taylor Gabriel on an inside slant, and the receiver got small and fell into the end zone to knot the game up 27-27 with 2:09 left to play.

San Diego started the game without three starting offensive linemen—Chris Watt, Orlando Franklin and King Dunlap—and starting cornerback Jason Verrett. Antonio Gates was also out of action, serving the final game of a four-game suspension.

Brandon Flowers, San Diego’s other starting cornerback, also left the game with a concussion. Receivers Malcom Floyd and Stevie Johnson left with injuries during the game.

That left the Chargers with just two healthy receivers for much of the second half—Dontrelle Inman and Keenan Allen. It didn’t seem to matter. Philip Rivers used Danny Woodhead and tight ends John Phillips and Ladarius Green to great effect.

Notably, Inman recorded his first catch of the year, and two others including a 68-yard catch-and-run that set up a Phillips touchdown catch, putting the Chargers on top 27-19 in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland’s Joe Haden was a surprise inactive for the game, propelling second-year corner Pierre Desir into a starting role. With K’Waun Williams out for the second game in a row, Johnson Bademosi and Justin Gilbert also rotated at cornerback with Desir and Williams.

Position Grades for Browns

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Position	Grade
QB	A-
RB	A
WR	B+
TE	B-
OL	C
DL	C
LB	C-
DB	D+
Special Teams	D
Coaching	D-

It’s hard to pit any of the blame on Cleveland’s offense. McCown led the Browns to their most successful offensive outburst of the season. Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson and Shaun Draughn reached 100 yards on 21 combined carries, and McCown threw for over 350 yards with two touchdowns. And it wasn’t just inflated stats in meaningless game time. McCown made play after play to keep the Browns in contention, and his pass to Barnidge that set up his ensuing touchdown and two-point conversion was a thing of beauty.

Despite being pressured frequently, and even under fire much of the game, McCown showed good poise, accuracy and was clearly on top of his game. He was sacked four times and did lose one fumble, but he didn’t have much chance on two of the sacks.

As for Johnson, the Browns' rookie running back was a target monster, nabbing nine of the 10 passes that went in his direction for 85 yards. That includes a crazy over-the-shoulder 34-yard touchdown grab that gave the Browns an early spark. He was decisive hitting holes and frequently made defenders miss. Crowell was great in that area, too. His long 53-yard catch included him running right through Flowers to gain another 20 or 30 yards.

Barnidge, Andrew Hawkins, Travis Benjamin and Gabriel were the main contributors in the Browns passing game. McCown made things easy for them, showing much more touch and accuracy on his passes this week. But all of them deserve plus grades for their ability to hold onto the ball and also look for and get yards after the catch.

Their offensive line was suspect against a Chargers pass rush that had just one sack all season. Some of that pressure came from missed assignments, or Barnidge being put in pass-blocking isolation on Melvin Ingram. Ingram blowing by Barnidge led to McCown’s sack and fumble. Some of it came as a result of McCown holding the ball too long and not navigating the pocket well, but we can’t excuse the offensive line completely. They were able to open some bigger running lanes again this week, or at least occupy enough space to stretch plays out long enough for Crowell and Johnson to find gaps.

Three of the team’s 12 penalties went against the offensive line—Joel Bitonio and Joe Thomas false started and Alex Mack was flagged for holding.

Defensively, where do I begin?

With three of San Diego's five offensive linemen missing, most would expect the Browns defensive line and linebackers to be swarming, not allowing Rivers much time to operate. Well, that did and didn’t happen. For the most part, Rivers was able to get the ball out quickly, and the Browns front seven never really dictated things in the trenches. Danny Woodhead and Melvin Gordon weren’t very effective overall, but they still had big runs that continue to show a lack of discipline and communication by the Browns defense. Gordon had a career-long run of 23 yards but was held to just 15 yards on his other 11 carries.

Karlos Dansby and Christian Kirksey played solid games from their inside linebacker positions. Paul Kruger helped rookie Xavier Cooper collapse the pocket leading to his first career sack, but he was a ghost for much of the afternoon. Barkevious Mingo was also a non-factor again this week, although he did make a touchdown-saving tackle at the end of Inman’s 68-yard reception. It set the Chargers up for an eventual one-yard touchdown, but it was a good hustle play.

Cornerbacks Bademosi and Desir had rough games, but both did make some nice plays. Other than being beat by Allen on a fade touchdown, Desir played decent and recorded a game-high three pass breakups. Bademosi was flagged for pass interference and a facemask penalty on the same play that lead to a Chargers first down, but he broke up a pass intended for Allen a few plays later to force a punt. Tramon Williams was solid again, save for a questionable holding penalty.

Donte Whitner needs to be highlighted here for his bounce-back game. Last week he was actually asked if he was “too old” for the NFL. The veteran was playing poorly, but he showed up in a big way with two tackles for losses and led the team with seven total tackles on Sunday.

Overall, as a unit, the Browns lacked consistency and gap integrity throughout the game. Five good plays and then one really, really good one is not going to get it done. The biggest thing that tells me is they need to be coached better to improve their fundamentals and recognize what opponents are doing. Coaching is vital and is very likely the culprit when a team is inconsistent but shows flashes of above-average play.

Special teams were, for the most part solid this week, again. Travis Coons drilled all four of his field-goal attempts. "Solid" is suitable to describe the units if you forget about Williams’ crushing offside penalty—it cost the team the game—and Malcolm Johnson’s hold that negated a decent punt return by Benjamin. It’s hard to weigh them down by just two lapses, but it cost the team the game, so it can’t be ignored.

Browns Lose Brian Hartline to Injuries

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

Browns receiver Brian Hartline left the game in the first quarter after suffering rib and thigh injuries, according to the CBS broadcast. He did not return.

Hartline has been a big chain-mover for the Browns this season. He had five first-down catches in Week 3, and his injuries may have happened on his lone catch of the day, a first-down grab in the first quarter.

If he does end up missing any extended time, it looks like Dwayne Bowe, finally healthy and active on game days, may be more involved in the team's game plan. Bowe had one target and no catches after Hartline left the game.

Crowell and Johnson Both Top 100 Total Yards

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

Browns running backs Johnson and Crowell combined for 241 all-purpose yards, with both exceeding 100 totals yards. That's the first time that has happened for two Browns running backs since 2004, per Kevin Jones of ClevelandBrowns.com.

The Browns were supposed to heavily involve their running backs in their passing game after signing new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo in the offseason. DeFilippo hadn't had much luck getting either of them involved like he did in Week 4.

Running the ball effectively seemed to help open up some space for the two to exploit. Both got in space frequently and made defenders miss throughout the game, something you can attribute to an uptick in effort, or a lack thereof on the Chargers part.

Tramon Williams: "You Gotta Go for It"

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

Williams has played great all season since agreeing to sign a three-year deal with the team during the offseason. But all of that can be forgotten in a heartbeat. Williams cost the Browns a chance at overtime when his offside penalty gave Lambo a second, closer attempt.

He was very vocal following the game and defended his aggressive play, saying it was a "chip shot" field goal attempt and that he "had to go for it," according to Scott Petrak of the Chronicle-Telegram.

Williams has a point. Lambo was attempting a 39-yard field goal to win the game, and the Browns needed to make a play. His second attempt from 34 yards out was easier and only possible because of William's slight lapse in judgement.

The cornerback was barely across the line of scrimmage at the time of the snap. He tried to jump the snap and get a good jump, but didn't.

Williams has been around long enough to let it affect him moving forward.

Pettine: "We're 1-3, We Own That"

Ignelzi/Associated Press

The Cleveland Browns do not seem to be improving defensively, despite being in the second year of Pettine's coaching regime. Defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil and Pettine continually stress accountability and "words over action," but all that's left are words after another disappointing finish.

"We're 1-3, we own that," Pettine said during his postgame press conference (h/t 92.3 The Fan).

Pettine may have thought he had job security after finishing 7-9 last season and not getting fired by owner Jimmy Haslam, but things can change very quickly in the NFL.

Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer's vision of a hard-nosed football team that wins through fundamentally sound, well-coached football has not come to fruition, yet. The signs were there last year that maybe this combination was good for the organization, although some big question marks remained and carried over and have been magnified in 2015.

If things continue to get worse, and it looks like things are trending in that direction, Pettine and his staff might be on borrowed time.

Mike Hoag covers the Cleveland Browns for Bleacher Report and is the managing editor of BrownsBeat.com.