Cleveland Browns' Week 4 Film Review: 30-27 Loss to Chargers

The Cleveland Browns rallied to tie the San Diego Chargers late in the fourth quarter this past Sunday, but QB Philip Rivers led his team to a game-winning field goal drive as the Browns lost by a final score of 30-27. Here is my film review of this week's game.

NFL Week 4 Film Review

Cleveland Browns vs. San Diego Chargers
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	FINAL
	3	10	3	11	27
	7	6	7	10	30

1. Goat of the Game: OLB Paul Kruger - The defense in general was disappointing and had a rough time with several members of the secondary out, so I picked Kruger for the general lack of spark he's provided, especially on a day where San Diego had a patchwork offensive line in place.
   
   
2. Awarding the Game Ball: QB Josh McCown - This might have been the best game of McCown's long career. Even though it didn't end up in a victory, he completed a high percentage of his passes, was very accurate, made a couple of nice throws off his back foot, and led the team to a game-tying drive and two-point conversion.
   
   
3. Not Starting the Right Way: Last week, the Browns' tight ends and fullback had problems in pass and run blocking, which made some of the team's 1st-and-10 run plays force the team in to some 2nd-and-long situations.
   

   

   
   The Browns got the ball first, but both teams went three-and-out on their first series. Cleveland passed the ball all three times on their first drive. To start their second drive, they ran to the right side. Cleveland have the numbers to execute their zone blocking scheme. Can the tight end and fullback deliver?
   

   

   
   Nope. In the green, TE Jim Dray stumbles right from the line and whiffs on his guy. In the cyan, FB Malcolm Johnson can't sustain his block for even a second as his defender gets right into the path of RB Isaiah Crowell, forcing him to go wide. The play ends up going for a loss of two yards.
   
   
4. Browns' Only Turnover: Two plays later, the Browns committed their only turnover of the game.
   

   

   
   Facing a 3rd-and-8, the Browns had three receivers to the right with WR Travis Benjamin on the outside, WR Andrew Hawkins in the middle, and WR Taylor Gabriel closest to QB Josh McCown. McCown is going to want to use Benjamin on the clearout and try to hit Gabriel as he breaks to the right sideline.
   

   

   
   The Browns have some protection problems on this play. TE Gary Barnidge and RB Duke Johnson stay in to block, so Cleveland should have seven blockers for at most five rushers. The problem is that Barnidge and Johnson end up taking two players in one-on-one situations, while the offensive line is going five-on-three.
   

   

   
   Barnidge can't handle the rusher around the edge like a left tackle can. Johnson looked ready to assist Barnidge, but then sees the rusher coming to his right.
   

   

   
   You could make the case that McCown held the ball a tad too long here. As he was about to step up and deliver a pass to Hawkins, he's hit by two defenders. The officials ruled it a fumble, but it was certainly on the border of being a forward pass. Hawkins probably had a coaching reminder this week to always go after the football on the ground immediately in the event that a call doesn't go our way. He's better to be safe than sorry.
   
   
5. Early Defensive Intensity: On the Chargers' second series of the game, Cleveland's defense appeared to be manhandling San Diego. I had early delusions of Cleveland being able to do this the entirety of the game, believing that the loss of three starting offensive linemen would be too tough to overcome. After all -- look what losing C Alex Mack did to the Browns' offense in 2014.
   

   

   
   On 1st-and-10, the Browns' linemen up front simply won the battle -- every single one of them. OLB Armonty Bryant makes an inside rush move, which catches the Chargers' right guard by surprise. NT Danny Shelton pushes the Chargers' center two yards into the backfield at the snap. DE Randy Starks splits the left tackle and left guard, going right through the double team.
   

   

   
   Because of all of that, ILB Karlos Dansby has a clear path to shoot up the middle and assist with taking RB Melvin Gordon down for a loss of two yards.
   

   

   
   On 2nd-and-12, the Chargers ran a playaction fake but faced more protection problems. The center and right guard double-team NT Danny Shelton right from the snap, and the right guard takes on DE Randy Starks. ILB Christian Kirksey is coming on the blitz and takes down QB Philip Rivers before he can even turn around. The turnover did not cost Cleveland, as San Diego had to punt after not converting on third down.
   
   
6. Time to Find a Groove: The Browns and Chargers each had two three-and-outs, so it was pretty weird to see Cleveland having the ball for the third time with 10:36 remaining in the third quarter. By the defense coming alive early, it allowed the offense to start finding their groove with a lot of time left in the game.
   

   

   
   Facing a 2nd-and-7 from their own 21 yard line, the Browns run a playaction fake. WR Andrew Hawkins is wide right and WR Taylor Gabriel is wide left. TE Gary Barnidge is running an intermediate route across the middle. Off of the playaction, the linebackers have come up and the Chargers' safety was retreating in case Gabriel's deep route ended up being a post.
   

   

   
   That opened Barnidge up for a 27-yard catch-and-run, with about 10 of those yards coming after he broke a tackle. Barnidge is blossoming into a quality receiving threat before our very eyes, and his chemistry with QB Josh McCown is money right now.
   
   
7. Right Call, Poor Execution: One of the reasons the Browns lost this week was that they didn't convert well enough in the red zone -- too many field goals instead of touchdowns.
   

   

   
   Twice during the game, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo dialed up a screen pass that should have been a walk-in touchdown had one of Cleveland's offensive lineman been able to get a slight chip on the lone defender. Pay attention to the defender in the green above.
   

   

   
   Everyone seems to be selling the screen pretty well, but give credit to the Chargers' linebacker for going with his instinct here. Instead of waiting back to see if RB Duke Johnson broke out into the flat, he just took off and starting making a bee-line for Johnson here. C Alex Mack and RG John Greco are leaking out to be Johnson's lead blockers.
   

   

   
   Greco doesn't get their quick enough. If he had, Johnson would've caught this and then both he and Mack could have held hands as they danced 20 yards untouched to the end zone. Instead, the defender hits Johnson for a loss of six yards, basically forcing Cleveland to settle for a field goal. What do you do if you are DeFilippo -- if you know the play should work by design but see that your team fails to execute it once the bright lights are on, do you just ignore the call? The field goal gave Cleveland a 3-0 lead toward the end of the first quarter.
   
   
8. No Hold? The Chargers also got their offense going on the next drive, and this certainly helped them.
   

   

   
   Facing a 1st-and-10 from the 25 yard line, RB Melvin Gordon carried the ball around the right edge for a gain of five yards. The problem is that the Chargers' center is behind NT Danny Shelton with his arm wrapped around Shelton's neck, preventing him from making a play on Gordon for no gain. Instead of being 1st-and-20, the Chargers are rewarded with a 2nd-and-5.
   
   
9. Pass-Rushing Struggles Commence: For the rest of the game, Cleveland failed to make QB Philip Rivers uncomfortable. The announcers kept attributing it to San Diego spreading the offense out more, and while I'm sure that helped in some situations, often times the Chargers just seemed to know full well what Cleveland was going to do and nobody on the Browns was enough of a difference maker to make a significant individual play.
   

   

   
   On the Chargers' next play, a 2nd-and-5 from the 30 yard line, Rivers hits WR Malcolm Floyd for a gain of 20 yards. The Browns tried to run a stunt with DT Xavier Cooper. In an interesting approach, the Browns have ILB Karlos Dansby rushing off the edge, and it seems like SS Donte Whitner expects to play TE Ladarius Green in man-to-man coverage.
   

   

   
   Instead of going out for a route, Green stays in and blocks Dansby around the edge. Whitner doesn't really have anything to do now, so he kind of just slowly walks up to the right tackle and stands in front of him.
   

   

   
   Meanwhile, here is the shot of the field. CB Pierre Desir has tight coverage to Floyd...
   

   

   
   ...but Floyd appears to get away with a slight push off of Desir as he breaks his route to the inside. The separation, clean pocket, and lack of an underneath defender (Whitner not having anything to do) all contribute to the 20-yard pickup.
   
   Do you notice how FS Tashaun Gipson seems to be involved in zero plays toward his direction when he's the single-high safety? While that is good that he's taking away the deep ball, I wonder if the Browns should mix it up a bit with his utilization -- we did it against the Jets in Week 1, and Gipson had the team's lone interception in four games (which he promptly fumbled, but that's another story).
   
   
10. Run Blitzing from Whitner: The Browns used SS Donte Whitner on several run blitzes this week, which turned out to be effective. This is something S T.J. Ward excelled at in his final year with the Browns, but the whole reason the team let Ward walk and signed Whitner was because they felt Whitner was needed in coverage. So much for that.
    

    

    
    The tight end blocks DT Xavier Cooper, while the right tackle and right guard both combine to double team DT Jamie Meder at the snap. Whitner is starting to sprint toward the line of scrimmage just as the ball is being snapped.
    

    

    
    Whitner drops RB Melvin Gordon for a loss of 3 yards.
    
    
11. Not the Easiest Assignment: Two plays later, facing a 3rd-and-8 from the Browns' 48 yard line, San Diego moved the chains with a defensive call that didn't appear to be one of Jim O'Neil's finest.
    

    

    
    The Browns are in man coverage across the board. Everyone is up on their man, but Cleveland tries to disguise who is responsible for TE Ladarius Green to the right of QB Philip Rivers. It is S Jordan Poyer, who is playing 20 yards off of him.
    

    

    
    When Green runs the crossing route, he crosses right in front of Rivers' face, and he sees that there isn't a defender near him. The Browns are asking a lot from Poyer to be able to get to Green on a dead sprint, through the oncoming traffic, and make an open field tackle. It's not a bad effort, but Green is able to stretch past the first down line to gain after Poyer's attempt to bring him down.
    
    
12. Not Prepared: On the next play, QB Philip Rivers caught the Browns unprepared.
    

    

    
    The Browns looked confused as San Diego hurried to the line. Just before the snap, DT Jamie Meder shifted over the center, so the Chargers clearly have an advantage if they want to run the ball with RB Danny Woodhead where Cleveland only has a linebacker. That's what they do, and Woodhead picks up an easy 11 yards for another first down.
    
    
13. Sometimes, When You're Beat, You're Beat: With under a minute to go in the first quarter, the Chargers faced a 2nd-and-10 from the 28 yard line.
    

    

    
    WR Keenan Allen is matched up with CB Pierre Desir at the top of the screen. QB Philip Rivers calls out something pre-snap, so he probably anticipates going after the one-on-one matchup.
    

    

    
    The Chargers have both of their tight ends running short crossing routes, with one of them setting a borderline pick play, even though the defenders in that area appear to be playing zone coverage. With only one safety remaining in the middle of the field, Rivers feels confident that he has enough space to get this ball to the sideline without Desir being able to play the ball.
    

    

    
    In a perfect world, Desir would've been able to stick his hands up to try to get in Allen's vision. Still, this is a fantastic throw and catch to the front pylon of the end zone. The Chargers went up 7-3 with the first touchdown of the game.
    
    
14. It's All About the Blocking: Why did RB Isaiah Crowell look so good at the beginning of last year? Because the zone blocking was very good, and when he saw that hole, he could shoot through it and pick up 20 yards at a time.
    

    

    
    On the first run play of the game, I showed how the Browns ran a very similar-looking play. The Chargers are lined up a bit wider this time, so RT Mitchell Schwartz blocks to the outside instead of going up to the second level (which is what RG John Greco is now doing). The big difference is with TE Jim Dray, who actually hits his block. The defender in cyan plays the outside too strong, which opens up the gap in green.
    

    

    
    Crowell shoots through the hole and runs for 32 yards on the final play on the first quarter.
    
    
15. Duke Johnson Has Arrived! We heard about the pass-catching ability of RB Duke Johnson all offseason, but his talents weren't fully on display until this week's game against the Chargers.
    

    

    
    Facing a 2nd-and-5 from the 34 yard line, the Browns packed the formation in tight, but then motioned to shift the entire formation to a five-wide lineup. You can match the color-coded circles to the X's to see where the players shifted to.
    

    

    
    After the shift, the faster, more traditional deep threat players are all at the top of the screen. The single-high safety is looking that way the whole time, leaving linebackers to cover FB Malcolm Johnson and D. Johnson at the bottom of the screen.
    

    

    
    Because he was in the slot, Johnson has enough room to use his speed to run past the linebacker while still staying in bounds as he angles toward the back pylon.
    

    

    
    The throw couldn't have been placed any better, and just like that, the Browns fired right back and had a 10-7 lead at the start of the second quarter. I was wrong when I said the Browns didn't have an offense that could strike at any time, and I credit DeFilippo for being willing to use his personnel in plays they excel at (I know, it sounds simple, but there are some egos out there when it comes to a player's role).
    
    
16. Catch the Damn Ball Already: The Chargers added a 46-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10. After a few back-and-forth possessions, the Browns had the ball on a 3rd-and-7 at their own 35 yard line with 3:51 to go in the first half.
    

    

    
    WR Dwayne Bowe is at the top of the screen for one of his rare snaps of the day. He is running a simple comeback route to the quarterback.
    

    

    
    Everything is wrong about this. Bowe didn't do a bad job running upfield and then stopping, but he somehow manages to turn around without moving his legs to run back to the quarterback. Then, the pass is coming in around neck area, yet he's waiting for the ball to come to his midsection area. To make matters worse, productive receivers are standing on the sideline with a clear view of this.
    
    I'm not trying to be a Bowe hater. I want the guy to find a positive niche on this team like our other receivers have. Every time we've targeted the guy in the preseason or regular season, though, he is in position to make a play and either drops it or doesn't have the body language like he wants it. How does that happen for a guy who has been in the league as long as him?
    
    
17. Forcing Rivers to His Left: A neutral zone infraction penalty on DL John Hughes prevented the Browns' defense from trying to stop San Diego on third down before the two-minute warning, eventually setting up a Chargers field goal.
    

    

    
    On 1st-and-10 from the 27 yard line, the Browns' defense finally found something to get QB Philip Rivers off his spot, encouraging him to just throw the ball away and live for another snap. The Browns brought heavy pressure from Rivers' right side with OLB Paul Kruger coming off the edge and ILB Christian Kirksey wedging between the right guard and right tackle. OLB Barkevious Mingo runs a long stunt too, but it's really the pressure from Kirksey that makes an impact.
    

    

    
    Rivers feels the pressure and rolls to his left. He knows he only has one shallow receiver here, and he's clearly covered, so he throws the ball away to prevent a sack and ensure the clock doesn't tick down. The Chargers eventually settle for a field goal to go up 13-10. The Browns put together a nice drive at the end of the first half too to tie the game at 13-13.
    
    
18. McCown Hanging Tough: I think QB Josh McCown has learned his lesson about not putting his body on the line when running up the field. That doesn't mean he's shied away from standing tall in the pocket and delivering a pass at the last second, knowing he'll take a shot.
    

    

    
    The Chargers got the ball to begin the second half, but punted on their opening possession. On 3rd-and-3 from the Browns' 24 yard line, WR Andrew Hawkins is wide right with TE Gary Barnidge close to McCown's right. The defender outside of Barnidge is actually going to blitz, coming unblocked at McCown.
    

    

    
    Here comes the free rusher. Hawkins' defender is going to get caught up in traffic, but McCown still needs for Hawkins to get his momentum going toward the right sideline before he lofts the ball out to him.
    

    

    
    McCown takes a shot low, but lofts the ball out to Hawkins, who catches it in stride and runs for 18 yards and a first down. The downside is that McCown rolled up on RB Duke Johnson's ankle here. Johnson did return, but not until the final play of this drive.
    
    
19. Mirror Images: When you look at how the game unfolded, the Browns and Chargers almost seemed like they were mirror images of each other (basically, the defensive play was not of highlight-reel caliber).
    

    

    
    Facing a 2nd-and-20 from their own 32 yard line, QB Josh McCown lets RB Isaiah Crowell release over the middle and throws a simple dumpoff route to him. The Chargers don't have anybody on him, but Crowell sees the open space to the right sideline and starts sprinting toward it. The defender in green expects Crowell to go up the middle, so he can't cut off Crowell's path to the sideline. That leaves the cyan defender for Crowell.
    

    

    
    The defender tries to push Crowell out of bounds, but he lowers his shoulder, takes the contact, and is still able to stay in bounds. The play goes for a total of 53 yards, with about 30 of those yards coming after this hit.
    
    
20. Screen Fails DeFilppo Again: Here is the other screen pass that failed offensive coordinator John DeFilippo.
    

    

    
    Facing a 3rd-and-5 from the 10 yard line, RB Duke Johnson was able to re-enter the game after RB Shaun Draughn came in for the previous two downs. The Browns draw up a fake receiver screen at the bottom to WR Andrew Hawkins, and are then going to come back with a mini dumpoff screen to Johnson on the left.
    

    

    
    The set up is even better than the first time around. The Browns have LG Joel Bitonio and C Alex Mack leaking out as lead blockers, and the defender (green arrow) doesn't have a full head of steam built up.
    

    

    
    Bitonio whiffs on his cut block, and when that happens, the play is dead. If Bitonio even gets the slightest chip, Johnson could make his quick cut outside or inside and will probably score. Instead, the Browns settle for another field goal, taking a 16-13 lead with under six minutes to play in the third quarter.
    
    
21. Woodhead Can Do it Too: After seeing the Browns' running backs run all over the field, RB Danny Woodhead wanted in on the fun, but for the Chargers.
    

    

    
    Facing a 2nd-and-9 from their own 20 yard line, both of the Browns' inside linebackers are rushing up the middle. OLB Nate Orchard drops back into coverage. The Chargers have six blockers in the backfield (including Woodhead) with only five rushers.
    

    

    
    The Chargers' offensive linemen aren't fooled by the pass rush Cleveland attempted, and because no one even came close to QB Philip Rivers or Woodhead, Woodhead leaks out over the middle.
    

    

    
    Here is the overhead shot from before Woodhead leaked out. You can see that Orchard and SS Donte Whitner both start chasing the crossing tight end.
    

    

    
    That leaves nobody to account for Woodhead, whose catch-and-run goes for 61 yards to the Browns' 19 yard line. One play later, Rivers hit TE Ladarius Green for a touchdown on a nice throw over Whitner, giving San Diego a 20-16 lead with 4:28 to play in the third quarter.
    
    
22. Second Sack of the Day: On a day where Browns fans expected plenty of sacks, Cleveland was only able to get two -- one in the first quarter, and this one on the team's final offensive play of the third quarter.
    

    

    
    Facing a 3rd-and-10 from the 50 yard line, the Browns stood everybody up at the line. DL Randy Starks rushed up the middle with OLB Paul Kruger going after the left guard and ILB Christian Kirksey occupying the left tackle and running back with an edge rush. DL Xavier Cooper (in front of the goal post) is going to fake an outside rush before coming inside. The Chargers don't anticipate it, so Cooper will build up a full head of steam toward Rivers between the magenta-outlined gap.
    

    

    
    Cooper's momentum is too much to stop as he registers the sack.
    
    
23. Another Shift Works Out: After a 31-yard punt return by WR Travis Benjamin, the Browns began their next drive with good starting field position.
    

    

    
    Cleveland packed everybody in on this 2nd-and-5 from the 35 yard line. Remember that they did something a little similar from the 34 yard line in the first quarter, when they got the touchdown to RB Duke Johnson. This time, the initial personnel lineup is pretty funky. FB Malcolm Johnson is in the green with WR Travis Benjamin to the right of Johnson in yellow. WR Taylor Gabriel is behind both of them in cyan. TE Jim Dray is at tight end on the right, with RB Duke Johnson at tight end on the left. The X's indicate where the personnel shift to.
    

    

    
    The Chargers look to be in zone coverage this time, and the play appears to be designed to get Johnson the ball in the flat. It's not a huge play, but Johnson is open and picks up the first down. This drive ended with a 40-yard field goal, making it a 20-19 game with just over 10 minutes to play in the game.
    
    
24. Putting San Diego in the Driver's Seat: The Browns were looking to force a three-and-out to get the ball back to their red-hot offense, needing just a field goal to re-take the lead.
    

    

    
    The Chargers faced a 3rd-and-5 and defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil decided to blitz everybody who was to the left of QB Philip Rivers. Among the group of four blitzers appeared to be OLB Paul Kruger, CB Johnson Bademosi, S Jordan Poyer, and ILB Karlos Dansby. DL Jamie Meder and DL John Hughes rushed from the line, making six rushers altogether. OLB Barkevious Mingo lined up over the center and rushed for a second before dropping back into coverage. ILB Christian Kirksey also dropped back into coverage over the middle.
    

    

    
    Both safeties are taking the deep route on the left side of the field. Mingo initially drops back in the way of the receiver. If the rush gets to Rivers quickly, this is enough to prevent a completion.
    

    

    
    Unfortunately, the rush doesn't get to Rivers quick enough. Mingo is dropping back, but doesn't really have any idea where the receivers behind him are. Kirksey is about to release No. 89 to the safeties here so he can come up and play coverage on the shorter routes.
    

    

    
    Unfortunately, Kirksey releases too late, and his momentum is stuck in sand as the receiver is headed toward the right sideline just before the Browns lay a hit on Rivers. Mingo makes the tackle at the 1 yard line after a 68 yard gain. The Chargers scored two plays later, taking an 8 point lead.
    
    
25. Fighting Back: The Browns' offense wouldn't go quietly. Unlike the previous week when the offense couldn't rally against the Raiders, QB Josh McCown led a comeback drive on the road against the Chargers.
    

    

    
    After a nice mix of runs and passes, Cleveland faced a 2nd-and-7 from the 20 yard line with 3:03 to play. WR Taylor Gabriel lined up wide left with TE Gary Barnidge tight left. WR Travis Benjamin is at the top of the screen with TE Jim Dray as an extra blocker in the backfield. Barnidge is running an out route beyond the first down, but he'll adjust to the ball while it is in air.
    

    

    
    RG John Greco gets beat by his man, so McCown is going to throw this one off his back foot a little.
    

    

    
    The ball is placed only where Barnidge can get it. He makes a great effort, reaching out with one hand, batting the ball, and, after review, making the catch at the 1 yard line.
    
    
26. Touchdown to Barnidge: The Browns needed a touchdown and the two-point conversion to tie the game -- could they get both?
    

    

    
    On 1st-and-goal, the Browns showed the same exact lineup and motion from TE Gary Barnidge, except that Barnidge stopped his motion at the hash mark and RB Duke Johnson ran up the middle for no gain. This time, Barnidge was slow with his motion (yellow, as if he was going to stop), before he started sprinting (green). At the snap, Barnidge bowed out to the goal line, and the defender in cyan was too far away.
    

    

    
    The throw was on target and Barnidge hauled it in for the touchdown to make it 27-25.
    
    
27. Two Point Conversion is Good: Even if the Browns didn't get the two-point conversion, with three timeouts and the two-minute warning, they still would've had a shot at stopping the Chargers (and who knows -- with the butterfly effect, Cleveland might have won with a last-second field goal had they missed the two-pointer).
    

    

    
    WR Taylor Gabriel lined up wide right with WR Andrew Hawkins in the middle and TE Gary Barnidge to the right of QB Josh McCown. WR Travis Benjamin lined up at the bottom of the screen. The Chargers are playing man coverage, so Hawkins runs right at Gabriel's man and turns around. The defenders don't switch, so Gabriel catches the slant and dives into the end zone before the one zone defender (in green) can come over.
    

    

    
    We're all tied up at 27-27! In my optimism, I saw three timeouts and actually thought, "maybe we don't even need overtime -- maybe we can get a last-second field goal of our own in regulation!" Ugh.
    
    
28. Pick Play: WIth 1:57 to go and facing a 2nd-and-5 from the Chargers' 32 yard line, San Diego ran a pick play to get TE Ladarius Green open.
    

    

    
    Don't ask me why, but CB Johnson Bademosi is in man coverage on Green, who is lined up tight left to QB Philip Rivers. The receiver in the slot to the right of Rivers is going to set a pick on Bademosi.
    

    

    
    There is the pick forming from this camera angle...
    

    

    
    ...and here is is from this camera angle. I like some pick plays -- for example, the one the Browns did with Hawkins was a good way to handle it. I like pick plays when the receiver turns their body and faces the quarterback. I don't like these pick plays, where the receiver dips his shoulder and isn't showing the typical body language that he's looking to catch a pass.
    

    

    
    And there is the contact that springs Green free for 17 yards. This was one of two big plays on the Chargers' final drive that put them in field goal range.
    
    
29. Woody Up the Middle: Facing a 2nd-and-2 from the 43 yard line, RB Danny Woodhead put the dagger in the heart of Browns fans with his untouched run up the middle.
    

    

    
    Cleveland was looking for the pass here, and none of the Browns' personnel up front were able to clog the middle. Kirksey might have been the team's one hope over the middle, but with how well all the other linemen blocked, whether the center took Kirksey left or right, Woodhead would've had a big enough hole to just go the other direction and still do damage.
    

    

    
    There is the hole as Woodhead scampered to the 24 yard line with under a minute to go.
    
    
30. Was Williams Offsides? When I watched the replay of the game, I kept looking at CB Tramon Williams' offsides call. He definitely moves before any other player, but you couldn't quite tell when the ball was snapped. This All-22 angle shows a nice view of it.
    

    

    
    This is before anybody moves.
    

    

    
    There! The long snapper has lifted the ball from the ground and is starting to snap it. Williams' feet haven't moved yet, but he guessed the snap right because he got the jump on the snap and isn't across the line yet.
    

    

    
    Williams is ahead of everybody else, but I think he actually timed the snap fine. Here is the thing, though: I'm not going to blame the officials for this call. Given the timing of things and how nobody else ever moves at the precise moment the long snapper begins snapping, it definitely looks like offsides from any of the officials' normal positions, where the ball is obscured from their vision on the field. The Chargers got another try and connected. It was a crushing defeat, but we'll never know if Williams' "early start" influenced the first miss too.
    
    
31. Special Teams Notes: The Browns had 5 special teams tackles with 2 each from CB Johnson Bademosi and ILB Tank Carder and 1 from CB Justin Gilbert. P Andy Lee averaged 48.0 yards per attempt on 4 punts, with a net average of 46.8 yards while having three punts downed inside the 20. K Travis Coons was 4-of-4 on field goals, hitting from 36, 28, 33, and 40 yards..
    
    
32. Snap Counts on Offense & Defense: If you missed them, here are the links to our snap count trackers for offense (link) and defense (link).
    
    
33. Brownies: The Browns converted 4-of-13 (31%) 3rd down attempts, while the Chargers converted 3-of-11 (27%) 3rd down attempts. ... San Diego out-gained the Browns in yardage 438 to 432. ... San Diego had 6 penalties for 31 yards, while Cleveland had 12 penalties for 91 yards. ... The Chargers had the ball for 25:41 compared to the Browns having it for 34:19. ... I like K Travis Coons, but his final kickoff of the game wasn't the best and aided in the Chargers beginning that drive at the 27 instead of the 20.
    

Up next, the Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday on the road. Keep it tuned to Dawgs By Nature for our coverage leading up to the game!