Following a victory against the Raiders, the Chargers are set to take on the Browns in hopes of picking up their third-straight win on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 1:05 pm PT.
Here are five key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the Week 5 bout:
Slow start
Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s 2021 season hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. Through four games, he has only thrown two touchdowns, which is tied for the second-lowest. In addition, he is coming off arguably his worst game in almost a year, in which he completed only 15 of 33 passes for 155 yards against the Vikings. There are a couple of directions his recent struggles could point to, one of which could be because he is playing with a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder that he sustained in Week 2 against the Texans. Maybe the absence of wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who’s on injured reserve with a knee injury, is playing a role in his woes.
Running wild
Stopping the run has not been the Chargers’ forte, and now they are tasked with slowing arguably the league’s most dangerous rushing attacks, which is averaging 177 yards per game. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt make up the one-two punch. Chubb ranks second in the league in rushing yards with 362 yards, while Hunt is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Bringing them down is not easy by any means, as they are among the best at generating yards after contact.
Championship-caliber defense
The Chargers have one of the better defenses in the league, but the Browns find themselves in the rare elite category. After finishing 19th in defensive efficiency, Cleveland boasts a unit that’s only allowed 16.8 points per game (4th), 250.2 yards per game (2nd), 183.8 passing yards per game (3rd) and 66.5 rushing yards per game (66.5).
Pressure makes the diamonds
A big part of the Browns’ defensive success comes from having an elite front. Leading the NFL in pass-rush win rate, edge defender Myles Garrett has contributed to a lot of their destruction, as he has the most sacks (6) and quarterback pressures (25). Opposite Garrett is Jadeveon Clowney, who’s proving that he was worth the signing, sitting with a 17.4% pressure, which would be his career-high. Inside of those two are Malik Jackson and Malik McDowell, who have dominated opposing linemen, consistently pushing them five yards into the backfield. Two weeks ago, the group sacked Bears QB Justin Fields nine times.
