The Los Angeles Chargers came out on top in a back-and-forth affair against the Cleveland Browns, advancing to 3-2 with a 30-28 victory. It may only be Week 5, but it’s a big win for Los Angeles over a team that they very well could be jockeying with for positioning in the AFC playoff race. Both teams’ chances of making the playoffs landed between 40% and 50% entering the week, per PFF’s simulation.
Offensive spotlight: It came in a losing effort, but Nick Chubb remains the most difficult man to tackle in the NFL. Of his 134 rushing yards, 105 came after contact with 10 missed tackles forced on the ground, pending review. Chubb’s 32 missed tackles forced rushing through four weeks were 10 more than any other runner.
Austin Ekeler had an impressive showing on the other side, turning in five runs of 10-plus yards. The only other backs to match that total in the early slate were Chubb and Rhamondre Stevenson.
Defensive spotlight: There weren’t many defensive highlights in a game with nearly 60 total points scored, but the Browns were able to generate some pressure off the edge with Jadeveon Clowney rejoining Myles Garrett along the defensive line. The two combined for 10 total pressures on PFF’s initial review of the game — five for Garrett and five for Clowney. All other defenders in the game combined for 12 total pressures.
Rookie spotlight: Rookie tackle Jamaree Salyer had a nearly flawless performance in pass protection in his debut last week against the Houston Texans, earning a 90.0-plus PFF pass-blocking grade with zero pressures allowed. Those numbers are going to take a hit this week after seeing a heavy dose of Garrett, but it could have been worse for the rookie out of Georgia in his second start. Salyer wasn’t charged with a sack or hit allowed on 31 pass-protection snaps, per PFF’s first-run analysis.
Offensive line spotlight: Both offensive lines deserve credit for the production they helped pave the way for on the ground. At the conclusion of the early slate of games, Cleveland and Los Angeles’ offensive lines sit at first and second in PFF run-blocking grades as units. Those performances up front helped fuel over 400 yards of combined rushing production.
Box Score
Passing
| Los Angeles Chargers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Justin Herbert | 14.42 | 22 / 34 | 228 | 6.7 | 1 | 0 |
| Cleveland Browns | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Jacoby Brissett | 15.4 | 21 / 34 | 230 | 6.8 | 1 | 1 |
Rushing
| Los Angeles Chargers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Austin Ekeler | 38.9 | 16 | 173 | 10.8 | 1 | 71 |
| Joshua Kelley | 16.2 | 10 | 49 | 4.9 | 1 | 16 |
| Justin Herbert | 14.42 | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 0 | 12 |
| Zander Horvath | 0.3 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 3 |
| Sony Michel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cleveland Browns | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Nick Chubb | 28.4 | 17 | 134 | 7.9 | 2 | 41 |
| Jacoby Brissett | 15.4 | 3 | 32 | 10.7 | 0 | 20 |
| Kareem Hunt | 14.7 | 11 | 47 | 4.3 | 1 | 17 |
Receiving
| Los Angeles Chargers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Austin Ekeler | 38.9 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 1 |
| Mike Williams | 26.4 | 13 | 10 | 134 | 10.3 | 0 |
| Joshua Kelley | 16.2 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 16.5 | 0 |
| Joshua Palmer | 5.4 | 6 | 3 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| DeAndre Carter | 2.9 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 |
| Gerald Everett | 1.2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.7 | 0 |
| Donald Parham Jr. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tre' McKitty | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cleveland Browns | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Nick Chubb | 28.4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Amari Cooper | 20.6 | 12 | 7 | 76 | 6.3 | 1 |
| David Njoku | 14.8 | 6 | 6 | 88 | 14.7 | 0 |
| Kareem Hunt | 14.7 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | 9 | 7 | 4 | 50 | 7.1 | 0 |
| David Bell | 1.6 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Harrison Bryant | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Schwartz | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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