The Cleveland Browns have no one to blame for the Week 5 loss except themselves

[ad_1]

The LA Chargers and Cleveland Browns faced off in an instant classic in Week 5 in which the Bolts emerged victorious, 47-42. It was a two-way shootout and after a game like this both fans should tip the scales towards the other team.

If the outcome had been reversed, albeit painful, the Browns would have earned the respect of Charger fans. We here at Bolt Beat would have considered him a tough L and have prepared for next week against the Baltimore Ravens.

This was not the conclusion of the fans or the Browns themselves. Instead of giving credit where credit was due, the Cleveland scenario is that the referees gutted the Browns of a win. The only play that has been brought up consistently is the pass interference call on a fourth attempt in the fourth quarter that shook the chains.

Both Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield complained about the referee after the game. While they took some credit for the loss, they certainly didn’t give the Chargers credit for the win and seem to think they shouldn’t have lost.

Well, here’s a news flash for anyone in Cleveland who thinks the same …

Was the arbitration perfect? Not at all. But is it ever perfect? Never. Were there any calls in this game that the LA Chargers should have received but didn’t? Absoutely. This is by no means an attempted apology for the missed calls.

The pass interference call on Mike Williams is certainly the one that could go either way, but it wasn’t entirely glaring. We have already seen that the same game was called pass interference before. In a big time, ranked fourth with the game mostly at stake, of course, the umpires are going to be more picky and call something by the book.

But guess what? Even with that call, the Browns could still have won. The LA Chargers scored a touchdown and missed the extra point and were still down 42-41. The Browns offense recovered the ball with 3:15 to go. The Browns really just had to practice and waste time and they won this game.

But they didn’t. The Browns came out three and out. They ran one yard on the first down, threw a failure on the second down, then on the third and nine decided to run a three yard draw instead of attempting the pass.

It tells you everything you need to know. Sure, they ran the ball well in this game, but the odds of hitting a first down on a third and a nine with a run are much lower than those with a pass. And instead of attempting a pass and trusting Baker Mayfield, they handed the ball over and took the punt.

They had the victory in their hands and sent it back to Justin Herbert and the LA Chargers. This is something Brandon Staley would never do. He would set foot on the Browns’ throat and win the game.

The Browns played passively and they paid for it. No matter what happened with the officials earlier in the game, there is absolutely no one to blame but themselves. Instead of beating the Chargers, they played the opossum and let the Chargers beat them.

dark. Next. 4 overreactions to the Week 5 win over the Browns

Ironically, Tristan Vizcaino’s missed extra point may have helped the LA Chargers. If he succeeds, the Browns might have tried to go down the field instead of accepting their spell and returning the ball to LA.

[ad_2]