Biggest Takeaways from Cleveland Browns' Week 4 Loss

The Cleveland Browns suffered a heartbreaking, last-second loss against the San Diego Chargers in Week 4, falling 30-27 and bringing their record to 1-3 on the season. 

A lot—both good and bad—was on display for the Browns on Sunday. Here are the five biggest takeaways from the Browns' defeat at the hands of the Chargers.

Passes to Running Backs

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The Browns were expected to heavily involve their running backs in their passing game this year, not just because they drafted Duke Johnson, but also because they hired John DeFilippo as their offensive coordinator. But through the team's first three games, we haven't seen much of that.

In Week 4 against the Chargers, however, the Browns finally unveiled their usage of running backs as receivers. Isaiah Crowell caught all three passes thrown his way for 62 yards, while Johnson was the team's leading receiver, catching nine passes on 10 targets for 85 yards and a score.

While Crowell and Johnson were also valuable as runners, combining for 94 rushing yards, their work in the passing game is what gave the Browns an additional offensive wrinkle—one that paid dividends against San Diego despite the loss. This should be a common occurrence for the Browns moving forward.

The Defense Is Still a Liability

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The Browns defense has struggled through the first three games, both against the run and the pass. And though it stiffened against the Chargers' run game on Sunday, allowing just 91 rushing yards on 21 total attempts, the pass defense was a major weakness.

The defense, which was without cornerbacks Joe Haden and K'Waun Williams in Week 4, allowed 358 passing yards and three touchdowns to Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and sacked him only two times, though he was without his starting left tackle, left guard and center.

Even worse is that the Chargers had four players with at least 53 receiving yards on the day and five with at least 20, though the Chargers dressed only four wideouts and two fell injured during the game. Dontrelle Inman led San Diego with 88 yards and Danny Woodhead had 84. 

Not only that, but the Browns defense routinely gave up big plays, including receptions of 68 and 61 yards by Inman and Woodhead, respectively, as well as a 17-play and a 19-yard play that led to the Chargers' game-winning field goal. 

With defense like this, the Browns will find themselves in trouble routinely. While it's a good sign that they improved against the run, stopping opponents' passing attacks has now become a struggle.

Josh McCown Looked Good

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All eyes have been glued to Browns quarterback Josh McCown, mostly because if he messes up it could mean the team is one step closer to putting Johnny Manziel on the field in his stead. But if McCown continues to play as he did on Sunday against the Chargers, he may be able to hang onto his job for the remainder of the season.

In Week 4, McCown completed 32 of his 41 pass attempts for 356 yards and two scores. He averaged 8.7 yards per pass and threw no picks, though he did lose a fumble. And while he was sacked four times, he didn't seem confused, hurried or mistake-prone as he has when pressured in the past. 

Four Browns had at least 60 receiving yards as a result, while McCown targeted nine different players on the day. It was an encouraging performance for the Browns, who have needed more from the quarterback position this year.

Where Justin Gilbert Stands

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Second-year Browns cornerback Justin Gilbert made his regular-season debut on Sunday, after missing the first three games with hip and hamstring issues. And though cornerbacks Joe Haden and K'Waun Williams did not play due to injuries of their own, that did not lead to Gilbert getting extended playing time on defense.

Gilbert's biggest role was as a kick returner, returning three for a total of 110 yards. Otherwise, he played only eight snaps on defense, according to Pro Football Focus, and had three combined tackles on the day.

Instead of Gilbert, cornerback duties fell to Tramon Williams, Pierre Desir and Johnson Bademosi, the latter a converted safety who has historically done most of his work on special teams. So it's clear where Gilbert stands in the cornerback pecking order right now, which doesn't bode well for the 2014 first-round draft pick going forward.

Browns Are a Competitive Team

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It may be cold comfort given that the Browns lost in Week 4, but this is proving to be a competitive team despite all its faults. Even with the yardage the Browns ceded to San Diego and the 12 penalties costing the team 91 yards, Cleveland managed to hang with the Chargers on the road. 

They put up comparable yardage on offense, scored 27 points and looked more competent than they have all year, even including their Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans. And their losses are now coming in increasingly competitive games.

The Browns have gone from losing by 21 points in Week 1, to losing by seven points in Week 3 to losing by three points—at the last second—in Week 4. To play as well as they did as the visiting team is a good sign that the Browns have the right pieces in place and that coaching is taking hold. Now, they just need to take the next step.