Browns vs. Chargers: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for San Diego

Second chances don't come around often toward the end of a game, but the San Diego Chargers were lucky to get one against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

With two seconds left on the clock, Josh Lambo missed the potential game-winning field goal from 39 yards, but an offsides penalty on the Browns got him a mulligan. He tried again from 34 yards and made it, lifting the Chargers to a 30-27 win over the visiting Browns.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Chargers and improved their record to 2-2 on the season. For more on San Diego's thrilling victory, click forward for this week's notes and quotes.

Position Grades for Chargers

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

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

Philip Rivers played mistake-free football with zero turnovers and led the offense on a pivotal two-minute drive to set up the game-winning field goal. If that isn't deserving of an A grade, then what is?

Danny Woodhead had 138 yards in rushes and receptions, including this 61-yard catch—a career long for him. Melvin Gordon wasn't able to break free from Cleveland's defensive front and finished with 38 yards rushing. An impressive showing by Woodhead earns the running backs a B-plus grade.

With Malcom Floyd and Stevie Johnson suffering injuries early in the game, it was up to Keenan Allen and Dontrelle Inman to help move along the passing game. Inman had 88 yards receiving, including the biggest play of the day for 68 yards.

Allen, meanwhile, had 72 yards and added his third touchdown in the last two weeks. It was an absolute dime by Rivers to get it to his receiver in the right spot down the sideline, but Allen's effort to lay out for this catch is pretty amazing. Playing a couple of guys down, the receiving corps gets a B-plus for holding it together.

Back from the concussion he suffered in Week 2, Ladarius Green had 53 yards in catches, including a 19-yard score he caught over Browns safety Donte Whitner. Rivers lobbed it up for his 6'6" tight end, and Green hauled it in for the difficult catch. John Phillips also got on the scoreboard with his fourth career touchdown catch. Tight ends get a B-plus as well for supplying the scoring when a few of the receivers had to leave with injuries.

The offensive line, missing three starters against the Browns, earned an A for the job it did keeping Rivers out of harm for most of the day. He was sacked only twice, and the team had 91 yards rushing.

On the defensive line, Kendall Reyes and Corey Liuget were busy, combining for 11 tackles, and they helped get pressure on the quarterback by opening up lanes for the outside linebackers to come in and get the sack on a few occasions. Despite Cleveland's success running the ball with Isaiah Crowell, the Chargers defensive line received a B grade for the pressure it helped create up front.

Inside linebackers Manti Te'o and Donald Butler had trouble with the Browns running backs. Lined up outside as a receiver, Duke Johnson streaked past Butler for a 34-yard touchdown catch, which Josh McCown threw perfectly over the shoulder, and Te'o missed a number of tackles on running plays.

But it was the outside linebackers who shined on Sunday, as Melvin Ingram and Jerry Attaochu collected four sacks between them. Ingram was able to force a fumble on one of them and recover it himself. Attaochu and Ingram improve the grade to a B in spite of the mishaps by Te'o and Butler.

In the secondary, Patrick Robinson and Steve Williams were the only corners available after Brandon Flowers left the game with a concussion. Flowers, by the way, had one of the poorest tackle attempts during a 53-yard run by Crowell. McCown got the better of San Diego's secondary with 356 yards passing and two touchdowns, but given the injuries, it's about what was expected. Safety Jimmy Wilson was also challenged by tight end Gary Barnidge, who beat him for this gem of a catch at the 1-yard line and a touchdown shortly after, but Wilson had good coverage on both. Defensive backs earned a C grade.

On special teams, Mike Scifres shanked a punt that led to a Cleveland field goal, but we'll focus on Lambo for this grade. He made all three of his field-goal tries, including the game-winner. It's tough to discredit this unit for coming up with such an impactful play. An A grade for special teams.

And finally, the coaching was well-deserving of a solid B-plus. Head coach Mike McCoy's plan to use a couple of timeouts before the half in anticipation of getting one more possession backfired as Cleveland was able to go down the field and pick up a field goal before intermission. Still, what a job by the coaching staff to make adjustments in wake of all the injuries. 

Ingram, Attaochu End Sack Drought

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The Chargers had gone without a sack in 12 quarters of play dating back to Week 1. On Sunday, Ingram and Attaochu ended that drought with two apiece.

Defensive coordinator John Pagano said in a news conference leading up to the game that his guys were getting a lot of opportunities to create sacks, but they simply weren't able to make those plays when needed in previous matchups against Cincinnati and Minnesota.

Facing a less mobile target in Cleveland's 36-year-old quarterback, Ingram and Attaochu were able to lock McCown in their sights and bring him down. Fans have been expecting this sort of production from the two linebackers since the season got underway.

Injuries Continue to Plague Bolts

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

The Chargers were already injury-ravaged heading into Sunday's game with three-fifths of the starters on the offensive line out, but the hits kept coming against the Browns.

Malcom Floyd left the game in the first quarter with a concussion he suffered making his only catch of the game. Fellow receiver Stevie Johnson exited with a hamstring injury, and Brandon Flowers, who missed last week with a knee injury, suffered a concussion.

Clearly, the injury bug has had it out for the Chargers this season, and it continues to hinder them in games. There's no telling just how many players will be on the injury report next week, but it will likely be quite a few.

Woodhead, Inman First Chargers Duo with Catches of 60-Plus Yards Since 2008

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Woodhead and Inman succeeded in making two of the biggest plays this season for the Chargers offense.

Woodhead's catch of 61 yards started with him in pass protection, but as Rivers told reporters during his postgame news conference, courtesy of Chargers.com's Ricky Henne, it was Woodhead who recognized the open space and called for the ball. He turned on the jets and challenged Cleveland's defensive backs to a foot race for the long gain.

Inman's catch-and-run of 68 yards was similar in that he was able to turn upfield and get up to top speed in a hurry. Give credit to Rivers as well for standing tall in the pocket and delivering a pass on the money as he took a hit from an incoming blitzer.

Who were the last Chargers receivers to record catches of 60-plus yards? A couple of former running backs in Darren Sproles and Mike Tolbert, per Henne.

Lambo on Second-Chance Field Goal

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Lambo shared his thoughts on his second-chance field goal, courtesy of Chargers.com's Hayley Elwood:

"

I had to go out there and thankfully had a second chance to kick. I messed up the first time and wasn’t going allow it to happen the second. I was kind of bummed out (on the first kick) but I saw the flag on the field and I was like, "Okay, alright let’s do this again and get out of here." I was very thankful and very grateful for another great snap and hold by my guys.  Fortunate to have that second chance. 

"

It's not often a kicker gets a second chance at a missed field goal, let alone a potential game-winner, but that was the case here for Lambo. He's now 7-of-8 on field-goal attempts this season and continues to do his part on kickoffs with 10 touchbacks.

The decision to let veteran Nick Novak go in the last wave of roster cuts prior to the start of the regular season was a difficult one, but Lambo is proving himself as the right man for the job so far.

McCoy on Rivers and Getting the Win

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

McCoy praised his quarterback, courtesy of Chargers.com:

"

We're so fortunate that he's our quarterback. Just what he does, and the toughness and the grit. A couple of those touchdowns you see him out there laying on his back. Just love the guy. Went right down the field, no panic, nothing at all. We had no doubt in our mind what we were gonna do there in the end. Huge win for us. 

"

That two-minute drive to set up the game-winning field goal doesn't happen without a quarterback of Rivers' caliber. And the touchdown passes he threw to Allen, Green and Phillips were delivered with pinpoint accuracy even with pressure in his face.

Josh McCown and the Browns put up one heck of a fight, but Rivers did just a little bit more to secure the win for his team.

Rivers on the Return of Antonio Gates from Suspension

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

"We'll be excited to have him back in there," Rivers said, courtesy of Chargers.com. "He helps us on the field, he helps in the locker room and we've certainly missed him, so it'll be a plus. We're acquiring a hall-of-fame free agent here in about 24 hours."

Gates, the Chargers' career leader in receiving, will be active for Week 5 after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. His first game of the 2015 season will be against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football in front of the home crowd.

With Gates coming back and Green playing well so far, it'll be interesting to see if offensive coordinator Frank Reich tries to implement both in the game plan. Gates was so good last season that he kept Green off the field, but together they could present a lot of problems for defenses.