Was Sunday a Chargers Loss or a Browns Win? Does It Matter?

The Cleveland Browns are in some unfamiliar territory. No, not record-wise. Being 2-6 is all too familiar for this team. But the way it won on Sunday – an ugly, sloppy game – that much was a rarity.

But in those weather conditions and the generally poor play by the San Diego Chargers, many have asked the question: was Sunday

merely a product of a lame duck Chargers team or a young Browns team figuring out how to actually win games?

Here is the real question, though: does it even matter?

The key here is that this Browns team – in just about every game this season except for one (a 41-27 beatdown from the New York Giants) – is finding ways to win, and at home to boot. While the game itself was ugly, the Browns followed a pretty normal formula to find the victory: they relied on exceptional performances from their own (see Trent Richardson’s 122 yards rushing and a touchdown or the overall performance of the defense) while getting some help from the opposition (see Robert Meachem’s costly drop in the fourth quarter).

It is a much rarer thing to look at a game and determine that one side simply dominated the other. That is, unless you’re watching the New England Patriots. Sure, the Chargers didn’t do themselves any favors on Sunday, but the Browns did just enough to secure the win.

And, after all, a win is a win, especially when the team is 2-6 and not an utterly hopeless 1-7.