Who took the blame for the Browns’ disastrous coverage of the Chargers’ loss?

From the point of view of an objective observer, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Palmer’s 27-yard touchdown came at the 6:49 mark of the first quarter, with the Chargers facing third-and-20 after a minus-3-yard run stop by edge rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo and a sack by defensive tackle . Shelby Harris and Dalvin Tomlinson.

The Browns were in second coverage of the game, with the defensive backs responsible for the deep zone. Thornhill found himself stuck in the middle of the field, intercepting Los Angeles rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey.

Near the Chargers’ sideline, it appeared as if Ward was expecting help that never came as Palmer ran the route. However, Ward didn’t want to blame the lack of help after the game, instead he simply said: “It was a bad report on both of them. We just have to get better, that’s the most important thing,” when asked.

In both games, Thornhill said there was a lack of communication throughout the defense.

“A lot of people think Denzel didn’t get a call, but in fact a few people didn’t get a call,” he said. “Denzel and I just had to make eye contact before the show. I can’t just assume he knows, or he can’t just assume I know. We just need to communicate with each other.”

The Chargers’ second touchdown put the Browns in a 13-3 hole with 8:01 to play in the first half, and again it came after a big negative yardage play as Myles Garrett recorded his third sack in four snaps. stretch to start moving.

However, faced with third-and-6, Ward sat in the flat next to wide receiver Jalen Reagor for too long. This allowed Johnston to get around the Browns’ corner and the rest of Cleveland’s defense.

Herbert immediately saw the reading and found Johnston near the Cleveland 32. The receiver rushed into the end zone easily and untouched.

“I just know I can be better in every aspect,” Ward said. “I could have done better to avoid a situation like this from happening. This is what I plan to do in the future, I just need to get better. It’s better not to leave people open and able to play.”

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Ward returned to the field Sunday, recovering quickly after suffering a concussion in the Browns’ 29-24 win over the Ravens last week.

He was evaluated for that game and placed in the league’s concussion protocol, diagnosed with the sixth known concussion of his NFL career.

Ward did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday this week, but returned to limited practice on Friday and formalized the protocol on Saturday.

He insisted the concussion had nothing to do with the errors in the Chargers game exactly a week later.

“It had nothing to do with the concussion,” he said. “I just have to be better on my part and make sure we’re all on the same page and where we need to be.” . It’s my fault.

Ward suffered his fifth known concussion in August during Brown’s training camp. He was absent for just over two weeks (from 12 to 27 August). After his return in the summer, he said he felt good about not wearing a fullback cap during games after switching to a new helmet, and also said he felt good when asked about his future in the game.

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For now, he appears to be committed to both of these positions.

“Yeah. I feel great,” Ward said when asked directly if he still feels confident about his helmet and future in the NFL after his latest concussion. “I feel great. I’m glad to be a part of this team.” and just doing everything we can to help us get the win, that’s the main goal.”

But as for this day, despite Ward’s quick comeback, the main word that came to mind was still “disappointment.”

The day ended with the secondary feeling that the Browns had wasted a great performance by a defense that managed to sack Herbert six times in the first half.

The bigger picture is that this unit is filled with veterans who are now in their second year in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s system.

“It’s frustrating because we’re better than this,” Ward said. “This is probably the first time we’ve had any bad coverage all year, but we know we can turn it around. We know we can get better.” defense and a better team and we’ll definitely work to fix that.”

No matter who is at fault, Ward will take responsibility and help make things right.