Chargers Browns Week 9 Game Recap

Editorial Director

The Bolts are now 5-3 after a convincing 27-10 win over the Browns on Sunday.

Here are five takeaways from Week 9 in Cleveland.

1. Bolts dominate in Cleveland

Do the Chargers have your attention yet?

They should.

The Bolts used a red-hot first half on the way to a resounding win over the Browns on Sunday, a performance that saw the Chargers match their win total from a season ago.

"Just so proud of our team," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said. "The way they played today, just a great team effort.

"There will be a lot of guys to talk about a lot of guys that shined big time in this game," Harbaugh added. "Just a wonderful feeling of winning, a wonderful victory for our side."

Khalil Mack needed just two words to describe the win.

"Domination today," Mack said.

Justin Herbert was locked in again as he threw for 250 yards in the first half alone, a yardage total the Cleveland offense didn't reach until late in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers defense was stellar yet again as they pressured and frustrated Browns quarterback Jameis Winston all game long to the tune of six sacks and three interceptions.

And while the Bolts will surely want to clean up some things going forward, there's no denying that this was one of the Bolts best overall games of the season.

A last-minute Cleveland touchdown prevented the Bolts from getting their largest margin of victory this season under Harbaugh, who has already turned the franchise around in his first year at the helm.

The Bolts are now eight games in with nine games to play but have squarely positioned themselves for a possible playoff berth in the AFC.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Bolts would be the No. 6 seed as a Wild Card and already have a head-to-head win over the seventh-seeded Broncos.

After a 2-2 start, the Bolts have now won three of their past four games.

"I look at the season as quarters, four games at a time," Derwin James, Jr. said. "This last quarter we just went 3-1. That's our goal, to at least get 3-1.

"Then you look up at the end and you'll be right where you want to be," James added.

The Bolts are at home in Week 10 against the Titans, who moved to 2-6 with an overtime win over the Patriots on Sunday.

Get an inside look at the postgame celebration from the Bolts 27-10 win over the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.

2. The defense clamps down

Midway through the third quarter, CBS analyst Adam Archuleta summed up how the day was going for the Cleveland offense.

"There is nowhere to throw the football," Archuleta said.

Truth be told, Cleveland couldn't run the ball well, either.

Ho hum, it was yet another impressive performance from a Bolts defense that has cemented itself as one of the league’s top units at the midway point of the 2024 season.

"We're just confident in each other," said Morgan Fox, who had a pair of sacks Sunday. "We earn our confidence through our practice and our preparation so when we roll into the game, there's just a belief in each other."

Tarheeb Still added: "It's fun playing on this defense."

Yes, the Browns put up 235 yards of offense in the second half, but that was when the Bolts had already built a 17-point lead.

But nearly everyone who stepped on the field for the Chargers defense made plays as they held the Browns to just 3.8 yards per play.

And that narrative that the Bolts haven't played much stiff offensive competition? James wants to hear nothing of it.

"This team just beat the Ravens last week, bro. And the Ravens are going to be in the playoffs," James said. "We can't get up here and act like, 'Oh, you ain't doing this or ain't doing that.'

"It's hard in this league. Every week you can get beat," James said. "To be able to do what we're doing, we ain't too high and ain't too low."

While Fox had a pair of sacks, Tuli Tuipulotu led the way with 2.5 of them. Mack had one while Cam Hart had 0.5 sacks.

On the ground, a potent Browns run game featuring Nick Chubb managed just 79 total yards on 24 carries. Chubb had 15 attempts for a measly 39 yards on Sunday.

"Everybody is just locked into the details of the game," Fox said.

Herbert added: "The defense has been incredible all year long. It's on us as an offense to score points knowing they are going to hold people out. And they've done such a great job forcing turnovers, too."

The Bolts entered Week 9 allowing just 13.0 points per game. That number dropped to 12.6 after Cleveland's 10-point showing on Sunday.

The Chargers are the only defense in the NFL to not allow more than 20 points in a game this season.

"It's huge. That's the goal," Elijah Molden said. "This is a prove-it league and we have to go out there every week and prove that week that we're the best defense. That's our mindset.

"We had a hell of a week of preparation and [Sunday] was the result of our preparation," Molden added. "Now we're going to come in Tuesday and chase even better."

3. Herbert lethal on 3rd down

A key reason the Bolts built up a 17-point halftime lead?

The right arm of Justin Herbert, who has taken his game to another level in recent weeks since getting healthy.

Herbert threw for 250 yards while posting a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in the process.

The only other Bolts quarterback to do that was Phillip Rivers, who did it three times.

And since Herbert was drafted in 2020, only three other quarterbacks have accomplished that feat in Tom Brady, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.

Much of that damage came on third down — the money down — as Herbert picked apart Cleveland's secondary.

According to Pro Football Focus, Herbert completed seven of eight passes for 189 yards on third (and fourth down) in the first half in Cleveland. Herbert had one completion on fourth down on the final play of the half.

"To have a guy like that back there who can sling it and make the throws when he has to, it's huge," center Bradley Bozeman said. "When he has to zip it in there, he does. When he has to throw the long ball, he does. He's our driving force."

Herbert and the offense managed just 32 passing yards in the second half, an area Herbert said will be an emphasis going forward.

But on a day where the offense hit on seven plays of 20-plus yards — six of them through the air — it's clear that Herbert is playing some of the best football of his career right now.

"When everyone is on the same page, we're able to do things like that," Herbert said. "Our whole emphasis is to push the ball downfield and then taking our shots and being smart with the ball."

Herbert has now thrown for 10 touchdowns with just one interception so far this season. That is tied for the sixth-best TD:INT ratio ever by a quarterback in NFL history.

4. Molden, Still team up for INTs

Leading 20-3 at the half, the Bolts defense was looking to make a stop to begin the third quarter.

It took awhile, but the Chargers came through when it mattered most.

Cleveland put together an eight-plus minute drive that ended with zero points after Elijah Molden intercepted Winston in the end zone.

Credit Chargers rookie cornerback Tarheeb Still on the play as he tipped Winston's pass right to Molden for an easy takeaway.

"I saw Tarheeb tip it up," Molden said. "I didn't do much. I just ran to the ball."

The pick party was only starting for the Bolts as Alohi Gilman later recorded his first interception of the season in the third quarter.

It was Gilman's second straight game in Cleveland with a pick.

And Still notched his first-career interception in the NFL in the final quarter to cap off an impressive game … and outstanding start to his rookie career.

"I'm just guarding my guy, he threw the ball and I was like, 'Yo, I can pick it.' I stepped in front and he was trying to take the ball," Still said. "I just ripped it from him and I stood up.

"We're away so when I stood up, it got quiet," Still said. "It was a really good moment. All my teammates, they congratulated me. Coaches, too."

The three takeaways in the second-half highlighted a season-long trend as the Bolts have now forced 13 turnovers in eight games.

"It's contagious," Molden said. "Something happens when you get one. You get greedy. Whenever you're around the ball, it's a lot of fun."

James added: "The ball was hot, baby. We were getting it."

Browse through live action photos of the Bolts Week 9 matchup against the Browns in Cleveland!

5. Davis sparks on special teams

Derius Davis was hampered by a hamstring injury earlier in the season but showed his big-play ability in Week 9.

Davis unleashed a 53-yard punt return on his first attempt Sunday to help jumpstart the Chargers.

"It felt good to be back out there with my guys," said Davis, who missed the past two games. "We were due for a big return. They got the vice set up and I was moving. Just got to keep it going next week."

He later added: "I knew they had outkicked their coverage the previous week. Our return we had on, it was perfect for that set up."

The big play set the Bolts up at the Cleveland 30-yard line as the offense later cashed in for the first touchdown of the game.

"An incredible punt return that set us up for a score," Herbert said. "Anytime he's on the field and is able to get the ball, something good is going to happen. We've definitely missed him."

Harbaugh added: "Great to see his explosion and back in the game. Really proud of him."

Special teams came up clutch again in the fourth quarter when Teair Tart blocked a 51-yard field goal to keep it a three-score game.

"Complementary football," Davis said.