close
close

Chargers-Browns final score, highlights and recap

The Chargers (5-3) are back at home this week after playing on the road three times in the last month. Tennessee (2-7) is in town this week and will welcome back starting quarterback Will Levis after he missed the last three weeks with a shoulder injury.

This game pits LA's top scoring NFL defense against the NFL's best unit in terms of overall defense, the Titans. Despite allowing the fewest yards on average each week, the Titans still gave up 26.6 points per game. While it may be difficult for the Chargers to string together attacks consistently today, history shows us that it won't be that difficult to score points in this game.

However, anything can happen on any Sunday. The Bolts need to come play to ensure this game isn't wasted unnecessarily.

Let's go, buckle up. Kickoff is just around the corner.

A full quarterly recap of today's game can be found below.


First quarter

The Titans won the coin toss and elected to defer. The Chargers offense was first.

Justin Herbert led the Bolts offense right down the field with a mix of short and efficient passes combined with two smart scrambles from the quarterback. The Chargers faced a first-and-10 at the Titans' 10-yard line but were unable to advance into the end zone. On second-and-5, Herbert hit tight end Hayden Hurst outside of play, but the veteran couldn't keep his eye on the ball and dropped the pass even though he may have had a chance to inbound it. Herbert failed on third down but was brought down two yards from the goal line and Cameron Dicker came on to give them an early 3-0 lead.

Will Levis and the Titans responded with a very strong drive of their own. Running back Tony Pollard recorded several big gains and wideout Calvin Ridley capped it off by beating Ja'Sir Taylor in one-on-one coverage for a 42-yard touchdown to give Tennessee a 7-3 lead.

Second quarter

Herbert moved the Chargers back into Titans territory with a nine-play, 57-yard drive, fueled by a 17-yard catch-and-run by Derius Davis that was aided by an illegal hands penalty against Tennessee. On third-and-5 from the Titans' 19-yard line, Herbert drifted back into the pocket and threw a perfect pass to tight end Will Dissly in the left corner of the end zone, but the ball bounced off his hands, giving Dicker another pass forced to be subbed in for a field goal. His second kick narrowed the Titans' lead to 7-6.

Levis kept the Titans offense moving in the second quarter. After moving the ball to the Chargers' 19-yard line, Tennessee began to fail with a facemask penalty and subsequent false start. The flag pair pushed their final field goal attempt 49 yards and senior kicker Nick Folk missed his target for the first time this season.

For the second straight time, the Chargers' offense penetrated the Titans' red zone. After riding their big back Gus Edwards closer and closer to the goal line, the Bolts were down four and one after the two-minute warning. Jim Harbaugh decided to roll the dice and go for it.

Herbert took the snap and immediately sprinted to his right. After seeing none of his receivers open, Herbert cut the field behind the backs of his offensive linemen and dove into the end zone for the team's first touchdown of the game. Dicker had a good extra point and the Chargers took a 13-7 lead with 1:55 left in the half.

Just before halftime, the Chargers had 36 seconds left to get into field goal range before the Titans received the second half kickoff.

JK Dobbins broke through a 10-yard run to the 23-yard line before the Bolts used their second timeout. On the next play, Herbert threw a fade to Joshua Palmer down the right sideline. Palmer nearly went down with a one-handed grab that would have put the Chargers within field goal range, but the Titans defender was able to take him down at the last second.

On second down, with 25 seconds left, Herbert dropped back to pass again, and as he was about to throw, defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons hit his arm before he came forward. The referees ruled the ball a fumble and cornerback Roger McCreary picked it up and returned it to the end zone.

Upon further review, Herbert never actually lost control of the ball when Simmons made contact and instead it was ruled an incomplete pass. The Chargers played it one more time before returning to the Titans. Tennessee ran a draw play that went 20 yards, but the time remaining in the half expired before it was tackled.

Third quarter

The Titans opened the third quarter the same way they started the game. The offense took advantage of misdirection and made big gains on the ground through Levis and Pollard, including a big third-down conversion on a quarterback run near midfield. The Chargers were finally able to consolidate inside the red zone and forced another field goal from the Titans. Folk was good from 27 yards and the Bolts' lead was reduced to 13-10.

Derius Davis finally had a chance to reward the Titans' special teams coverage with a 56-yard kickoff return to line up at the Tennessee 43-yard line and begin their first drive of the second half. On first down, Herbert found McConkey for a 15-yard gain, which was also his first reception of the day.

On third-and-8 from the 16-yard line, Herbert dropped back, surveyed the field and threw a perfect pass to Quentin Johnston in the end zone, who took a step toward former Chargers linebacker Kenneth Murray. Johnston's fifth touchdown of the year gave the Bolts a 20-10 lead with just over three minutes left.

The Chargers' pass rush came to life just before halftime when Tuli Tuipulotu Levis sacked on first down, followed by Joey Bosa's first sack since Week Two that put the nail in the drive on third down.

Fourth quarter