The 2020 season ended in disappointment for the Cleveland Browns as they lost a tough game in the AFC Divisional Round to the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, this one game was like getting a stake driven through the heart. But imagine going through the regular season and getting multiple paper cuts, that would be the equivalent of what the Browns Week 5 opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, went through last season.
There were multiple games throughout the season where either LA had the lead but couldn’t hold onto it, or it was a close game throughout and LA ended up being on the wrong side of those games. If the Chargers had found ways to get victories in each of these types of games, they might’ve been able to get in the playoffs. Had this happened, they could’ve done some major damage!
This week 5 game is scheduled for October 10 at 4:05 pm EST. Given that many fans and media members are very high on both these teams, it’s a bit shocking that this game isn’t on Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football. Thankfully it’s not on Thursday Night Football because that would be unfair to both teams as the Chargers will have just hosted the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football and the Browns will have just been up north against the Minnesota Vikings.
This is going to be a very interesting matchup stylistically. The Chargers don’t appear to be a ground-and-pound team, instead, they look like the type of team that wants to throw the ball around the yard. However, LA won’t throw it nearly as much as the Kansas City Chiefs did to the Browns in Week 1.
For some reason, the Browns seem to have problems with the Chargers whether that’s been here in Cleveland or out on the west coast. By the way, the Chargers should still be in San Diego, they should not be in Los Angeles. Regardless, Cleveland seems to have problems with the Bolts. Just look at the last few times that these two teams have played each other. It hasn’t gone well for the Browns.
The last time these two teams played each other was in Week 6 of the 2018 season off the shores of Lake Erie (October 14, 2018). LA came into town and absolutely kicked the snot out of the Dawg Pound 38-14. In Week 13 of the 2017 season, the Browns traveled to LA, and the Chargers once again came away with the victory by a score of 19-10. Cleveland’s only win in 2016 came against San Diego thanks to a last-second field goal 20-17. In 2015, the Chargers defeated the Browns by a score of 30-27.
So with this past history and the Chargers having a high-flying offense, it doesn’t appear to be a good combination for Cleveland. However, Cleveland has a way to counteract this high-flying offense by the Chargers. How? By running the heck out of the ball with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. That way, you keep Justin Herbert, wide receiver Keenan Allen, wide receiver Mike Williams, and running back Austin Ekeler on the sidelines.
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