CLEVELAND (AP) — Justin Herbert passed for 250 yards and two touchdowns — all in the first half — to lead the Los Angeles Chargers to a 27-10 victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns, who couldn't get anything going with Jameis Winston. Herbert connected on a 66-yard TD pass to Quentin Johnston and a 27-yarder to Joshua Palmer as the Chargers (5-3) built a big halftime lead and rolled to their fifth straight win over Cleveland. Herbert finished 18 of 27 for 282 yards and was sacked six times.
J.K. Dobbins had two rushing touchdowns for Los Angeles.
The Chargers' defense, which came in allowing a league-low 13 points per game, intercepted Winston three times, sacked him six more and limited the Browns (2-7) to just 57 yards in the first 30 minutes. The Chargers didn't do much after halftime. They didn't have to as the Browns were unable to mount any serious threat and fell to 1-4 at home.
Both of Herbert’s TD passes were the result of communication breakdowns by the secondary. On the first, Palmer got free down the right sideline for an easy TD. The second came when Johnston got behind Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward, who seemed to think he was getting deep help from safety Juan Thornhill.
Dobbins scored on a 16-yard run with 3:30 left before halftime as the Chargers opened their 17-point lead. Herbert essentially became a game manager in the second half as Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh turned to his running game to put away the Browns — something his brother, Baltimor.
