Chargers Browns Week 9 Game Review

2. The defense cracks down hard

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

“You can’t throw the football anywhere,” Archuleta said.

To be honest, Cleveland couldn't run the ball well either.

Hmm, it was another impressive performance from a Bolts defense that has established itself as one of them the best units in the league at the halfway point of the 2024 season.

“We just have mutual trust,” said Morgan Fox, who had a pair of sacks Sunday. “We gain our confidence through our training and preparation. So when we come into the game, we just believe in each other.”

Tarheeb Still added, “It’s fun to play in this defense.”

Yes, the Browns managed 235 yards of offense in the second half, but by that point the Bolts had already built a 17-point lead.

But almost everyone who took the field for the Chargers' defense made plays, as they held the Browns to just 3.8 yards per play.

And the narrative that the Bolts didn’t provide much competition on offense? James doesn't want to hear about it.

“This team just beat the Ravens last week, bro. And the Ravens will be in the playoffs,” James said. “We can't come here and say, 'Oh, you don't do this or you don't do that.'

“It's difficult in this league. Any week you can get beat,” James said. “To be able to do what we do, we’re not too high and we’re not 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 strong Browns running game with Nick Chubb totaling just 79 yards on 24 carries. Chubb had 15 attempts for a meager 39 yards on Sunday.

“Everyone is just fixated on the details of the game,” Fox said.

Herbert added: “The defense has been incredible all year. It's up to us as an offense to score points because we know they're going to stop people. And they did such a great job of forcing turnovers.”

The Bolts entered Week 9 scoring just 13.0 points per game. That number dropped to 12.6 after Cleveland scored 10 points on Sunday.

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

“It's huge. That’s the goal,” Elijah Molden said. “This is a league where you have to prove it and we have to go out every week and prove that we are the best defense. That’s our attitude.”

“We had a heck of a week of preparation and (Sunday) was the result of our preparation,” Molden added. “Now we come in on Tuesday and hunt even better.”