CLEVELAND — With his team clinging to a 30-28 lead over the Cleveland Browns and facing a long 4th and 1 from its own 46-yard line with 1:13 remaining in the game, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley made what many considered to be a curious decision.
Rather than punt the ball away and force the Browns offense to move the ball without any timeouts, Staley opted to go for the fourth down conversion -- a move that didn't sit well with Cleveland's All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett.
“I expect him to go for it, but it’s still disrespectful to us," Garrett said of Staley, who has established a reputation as one of the league's most aggressive head coaches. "I know he has an offense that was doing very well the whole day and he expects them to get the first down. But to us, that’s telling us that he can take advantage of us and we don’t take that very kindly."
As it turned out, Staley's decision didn't pay off, as Browns rookie cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. broke up a pass attempt from Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to wide receiver Mike Williams. The play gave Cleveland the ball at Los Angeles' 45 yard-line, with a 10-yard pass from Jacoby Brissett to Amari Cooper putting the ball well within kicker Cade York's field goal range.
York's 58-yard field goal attempt with 16 seconds remaining, however, sailed right, allowing the Chargers to escape Cleveland with a 30-28 win. With the loss, the Browns fell to 2-3 on the season, heading into next week's matchup with the New England Patriots (2-3) at FirstEnergy Stadium.