CLEVELAND — The offense dominated in the first half. The defense made the flashy plays in the second.
The Chargers added it up to a 27-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Huntington Park Stadium to approach the middle of the season with three wins in their last four games.
Instead of maintaining sustained dominance on both sides, the Chargers (5-3) passed the baton between the offense and defense. They built a 17-point halftime lead and then went cold, punting three straight times in the third quarter.
The defense then arrived with three second-half interceptions and came 44 seconds away from a second consecutive game without allowing a touchdown until Cedric Tillman tapped his toes in-bounds for a late 17-yard score.
The list of key contributors sent coach Jim Harbaugh on a winding news conference that reminisced about his childhood growing up in Ohio, celebrated cornerback Tarheeb Still’s “one and a half” interceptions and praised receiver Quentin Johnston’s career-best 118 yards receiving.
“It was a wonderful feeling of winning,” Harbaugh said with a dreamy smile. “A wonderful victory.”
Quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns while completing 18 of 27 passes. After a two-game absence because of an ankle injury, Johnston recorded his first 100-yard receiving performance, catching four passes including a 66-yard touchdown that was the Chargers’ longest play from scrimmage this year.
“I just know when I came back, I had to show up for my team and make up for the two weeks I lost,” Johnston said.
The Chargers have scored touchdowns of 60 or more yards in consecutive games after rookie Ladd McConkey notched a 60-yard touchdown catch last week. It’s an explosive turn for an offense that spent the first part of the season dragging from injuries.
The Chargers averaged 136 yards passing per game during the first four games. Herbert suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 2, limping through the next two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs.
But since the Chargers’ early off week, Herbert has averaged 274 yards passing per game.
“When everyone’s on the same page, we’re able to do things like that,” Herbert said. “That’s our whole emphasis and point of the offense, to be able to push the ball downfield and understand taking our shots and being smart with the ball.”
The Chargers, who entered the game with the fifth-best turnover margin (plus-six) in the NFL, capitalized on mistakes from Browns quarterback Jameis Winston to force three takeaways.
Still, a fifth-round pick in last April’s draft, sparked the defense in the third quarter by leaping to deflect a pass in the end zone and batting it to safety Elijah Molden.
The defensive back, who was traded to the Chargers in August for a seventh-round pick from the Tennessee Titans, cradled the ball for his team-leading third interception.
“That’s all you,” Molden told the rookie after the play.
The interception shut down a promising start to the second half for the Browns, who went 66 yards in 14 plays on the drive after amassing just 57 yards in the first half.
The Chargers, who led 20-3 at halftime, were scoreless on their first five drives of the second half, which included a missed 44-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker. After he missed an extra point in the first half — his third of the season — Dicker missed a field goal from inside 50 yards for the first time in his career.
The defense overcame the offensive lull as safety Alohi Gilman grabbed his first interception of the season and Still got his first professional interception early in the fourth quarter. The former Maryland Terrapin jumped in front of a pass intended for receiver Elijah Moore and ripped the ball away as Moore tried to wrestle it free.
Safety Derwin James Jr. escorted the rookie cornerback straight to the end zone to celebrate, fixing an imaginary crown to Still’s head.
“Once he feels that one interception, it’s going to be up for him from here,” James said. “He’s a baller.”
When he caught the ball, Still said he was surprised by how silent the crowd got. Then he remembered he was playing on the road.
Some Browns fans started chanting “we want refunds” after defensive lineman Teair Tart blocked a 51-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Minutes later on the sideline, James gestured toward the block of Chargers fans seated behind the bench.
Chants of “Let’s Go Chargers” soon echoed toward the upper deck of the stadium.
