The Browns offense picked up where they left off versus the Ravens, with lethargy. Even with great field position from its special teams, Cleveland could not find the end zone.

The defense withered away against the Los Angeles Chargers offensive attack. Phillip Rivers carved up the secondary with passes to Keenan Allen and Tyrell Williams.

Similar to the performance following their win against the Jets, the Browns followed a winning showing with an underwhelming one; a frustrating feeling for fans who want consistency from the team.

Boos rained down from the coast of Lake Erie as the Browns trailed 21-6 at halftime to the Chargers.

Surprisingly, the special teams were the best weapon for the Browns. Jabrill Peppers had some dangerous returns that got the Browns into good field position; however, they could not capitalize in the red-zone. Kicker Greg Joseph was two-for-two on field goals.

I understand that the Browns’ wide receiver corps is thin. Adding to these problems was an injury to Rod Streater, one that left the Browns with only three active receivers. Regardless, the top receivers on the team are still healthy and need to get a higher volume of targets.

Jarvis Landry and Duke Johnson Jr. need to see more looks from Baker Mayfield. Antonio Callaway’s drops have been a problem for the offense since so much of the Cleveland offense involves trying to exploit defenses with his athleticism.

The Browns needed to turn the tide of the game around if they wanted to compete in the second half.

The Chargers raged on, picking off Baker Mayfield to set up for another Melvin Gordon touchdown. You could feel the air get sucked out of Firstenergy Stadium.

The Chargers continued to gash the Browns with outside runs. The Browns were not on the same level as Los Angeles and it was a blowout by the fourth.

Today was, consistently, a disappointing day for the both sides of the ball. The problem with this team has been their failure to fire on all cylinders.

When offense scores, the defense gives up a big play and vice-versa. It’s not how good teams play, and if the Browns want to contend they need to clean it up.

The team had no positives to take from being dominated by the Chargers. They’ll need to move on from the embarrassment on Sunday and prepare for a road game in Tampa Bay next week.

Jake Adams is a columnist. Contact him at [email protected].