Browns Week 5 studs and duds: Heroes become zeros edition

The Cleveland Browns had a couple of players go from hero to zero in their Week 5 loss as late mistakes cost them a shot at a win

A rough stretch of games for the Cleveland Browns couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. A 14-0 lead was gone nearly as quickly as it was earned and then a slew of mistakes in the final two minutes led to a 30-28 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Had they stolen the win against Los Angeles, this could have helped them not only go through the upcoming gauntlet but also could have erased the sting from the loss to Atlanta the week prior.

Instead, they’re now trying to end a two-game losing skid while also needing to figure out how some of their heroes have fallen to zeros.

Browns Week 5 studs and duds

Dud: Cade York, K

Back in Week 1, Cade York was the ultimate hero. He nailed a 58-yard field goal to give Cleveland a narrow win over the Carolina Panthers. In Week 5, he was again sent out for a game-winning attempt, this time from 53-yards.

York’s kick went wide and the Browns were left devastated. It was also the second miss of the day for York, who left six points on the board in a two-point contest.

Cleveland took some heat for drafting York in the fourth round this season but they truly believed he would be the answer for them at the position. Following a quick start, he now has two missed field goals and two missed extra points. He still has the talent to be a long-term kicker, but it’s clear patience is going to be needed.

Stud: Martin Emerson, CB

While one rookie blew the chance at a win, another was one of the players who got them that opportunity. Martin Emerson played tough all day but had a breakup on fourth-and0short that gave Cleveland the chance to win the game. Had York converted, he would have been praised. But since the kick went wide, this play will be mainly forgotten.

Even with the frustrating outcome, Emerson has already shown plenty of promise in his rookie season. On a year where Cleveland didn’t make a selection in the draft until Round 3, they still found a potential playmaker with that pick as Andrew Berry continues to be a monster in the NFL Draft.

Dud: Grant Delpit, S

After Cleveland went up 14-0, the defense gave up a huge 71-yard run to Austin Ekeler. Greg Newsome was great in chasing him down, otherwise, it would have been a touchdown for Ekeler.

The main reason Ekeler had so much room was the angle taken by Grant Delpit. As he came toward the line of scrimmage, he moved slowly to his right, allowing Ekeler to cut to the opposite side and rip off a huge gain.

This was the second error in as many drives for Delpit. On the Chargers’ first possession, he was flagged for a late hit on Justin Herbert who was sliding. It wasn’t a dirty play but when a quarterback is clearly giving himself up, the player cannot slide into them at all, which is what Delpit did.

So far in 2022, Delpit has been an issue for the Browns which is frustrating considering how high the hopes were for him in his third season.

Stud: Nick Chubb, RB

Once again, Nick Chubb proved he’s the heart and soul of this team. He ripped off a 41-yard touchdown on the first drive to put the Browns up early and then after a 14-0 lead turned into a 17-14 deficit for the Browns, Chubb got back to work.

A questionable roughing the passer call gave Cleveland a fresh set of downs at the two-yard line, but Chubb only needed one attempt as he ran it in for his second score. The Browns were up 21-17 heading into the half, thanks in large part to Chubb putting up 95 yards and two scores in the first 30 minutes.

In all, Chubb had 134 yards and two touchdowns but was absent in the final minutes again. That will lead to some criticism for their coach, who is next up on this list.

Dud: Kevin Stefanski, Head Coach

There’s being aggressive, then there’s taking unnecessary chances. So far in Kevin Stefanski’s career as the Browns head coach, he’s been very aggressive but on Sunday, he took some risks he shouldn’t have.

One came midway through the third quarter right after surrendering a touchdown to Austin Ekeler. Cleveland was down 24-21 and facing a fourth-and-one on their own 34. Rather than sneak it with Jacoby Brissett — who has been great at this — Stefanski called a run with Kareem Hunt that lost four yards.

Going for it here was going to be risky no matter how it was approached but it would have made much more sense to stick with what has worked. Since they didn’t, L.A. scored on a short field goal despite gaining just 23-yards on that drive.

As we saw, every point mattered in this one, and giving up free points was costly.

Stud: Greg Newsome II, CB

The Browns were up 14-0 and the Chargers were trying to strike back. It looked as though they were about to pull within a touchdown when Austin Ekeler took off for a 71-yard gain. Greg Newsome II had other plans though as he chased the speedy Ekeler down and that led to a field goal rather than a touchdown.

Later, he stopped DeAndre Carter on third and goal when they were facing off in the open field. That also held the Bolts to a field goal, meaning Newsome took eight points off the board with these two plays. It could have been more as he stopped Mike Williams from scoring in the third quarter when he pushed him out of bounds, but Ekeler scored on the next play anyway.

Dud: Jacoby Brissett, QB

Once again, Jacoby Brissett had a good game as he was calm and decisive throughout the day. While he continues to make solid passes, his best play came on a third-and-nine where it looked as though he was about to be sacked.

Hit by two different Chargers defenders, Brissett shook them off and ran for 20-yards. This play, which came right around the five-minute mark in the fourth quarter and should have given them a shot to take the lead back.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Just a few plays later, Brissett threw an ill-advised pass into the end zone and Alohi Gilman picked it off for L.A. It was the second game in a row where Brissett threw the ball away while trying to come back, which makes a lot of his earlier success feel flat. What made this one worse was how Brissett had enough room in front of him to secure a first down.

Week 5 instant reactions: Browns blow chance at win twice in two minutes

The Cleveland Browns got off to a 14-0 lead but the Los Angeles Chargers fought back to secure the win. Here are the instant reactions to the Week 5 loss.