Chargers to watch against Browns in Week 5
By John Suchan
The Los Angeles Chargers have several players to watch closely on Sunday when the Browns battle them down at the stadium
The Los Angeles Chargers are returning to Northeast Ohio to play the Cleveland Browns. They’ve beaten them the last three times they’ve played.
Last year, the two teams put on an offensive show where the Chargers had enough to come back and beat the Browns late 47-42. This season both teams have 2-2 records, and this will be an important game and springboard to the rest of the year.
The Chargers have had some injuries pop up including one for their star pass rusher, Nick Bosa. Cleveland will be getting their powerhouse defensive end Myles Garrett back this week after he was sidetracked after a car accident a couple of weeks ago. That could be an advantage for the Browns in the end. However, the Chargers have a quick striking offense behind their star quarterback Justin Herbert.
He suffered a rib injury a few weeks ago when they played the Kansas City Chiefs but that hasn’t slowed him down much. Let’s discuss Herbert a bit more and a couple other Los Angeles players that will be must watch tv on Sunday.
Justin Herbert, QB
The third-year player is establishing himself as a star in the NFL and the Chargers will have a chance to go far in the league. However, despite the statistical numbers by Herbert, his team is still not a consistent winner and they haven’t made the playoffs yet. Herbert’s career record is only at 17-19. He’s certainly putting up big numbers having thrown for 10,600 yards and 78 touchdowns in two-plus seasons, but it hasn’t correlated to team wins yet.
In four games this season, he’s thrown for 1,250 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s avoided making too many mistakes, only having been sacked four times and throwing two interceptions.
However, his team is still only 2-2. He’s played the Browns once in his career, which was in last season’s come-from-behind win. He was 26-of/43 for 398 yards and four touchdowns in that game.
He also ran the ball four times in that game for 29 yards. With everyone, thinking the Chargers will be throwing the ball all over the field, Herbert might be able to expose that defense and run for a few big chunk plays with the secondary so spread out.
Austin Ekeler, RB
Austin Ekeler had quite the game a week ago against the Houston Texans where he finished with three touchdowns and was the difference in his team’s win. He finished that game with 60 yards rushing and 49 yards receiving.
His versatility has been huge all season as he has 140 yards rushing and 188 receiving through four games.
Ekeler has been in the league since 2017 and last season was his best rushing season when he finished with 911 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also had 647 receiving yards and eight more touchdowns, so his value has been maximized.
He’ll be a big part of the game plan this week against the Browns. If they can keep his production in check, that will be a big indicator on who wins this battle and scores the win.
Khalil Mack, LB
When one thinks of the Chargers, you think about their offense, but they also have a pretty talented defense including a great pass rusher in Khalil Mack. The dominating veteran EDGE has been in the league now since 2014, when he started out with the Oakland Raiders.
To date, he’s recorded 406 tackles and 73 sacks and forced 19 fumbles in his stellar career. He already has five sacks this season, so the Browns offensive line needs to be ready to protect Jacoby Brissett.
With the recent news that Bosa is out with an injury, some may forget that Mack is still out there ready to cause havoc. If Cleveland protects their quarterback then they will be in better shape to get the win.
It may be difficult to shut all three of these Charger standouts down come game time Sunday so be ready to watch some great talent win or lose.
