Brandon Staley has proven over his run as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers that he is not one to shy away from taking risks. He did just that during the Chargers’ Week 5 road win against the Cleveland Browns.

After failing to convert a crucial third down and with the offense on its own side of the field, Staley opted to go for it on fourth-and-two with the Chargers leading by a 30-28 score. With Denzel Ward not on the field due to a concussion, Staley decided to place his full trust in Justin Herbert to connect with Mike Williams, who ended up being shadowed by rookie cornerback Martin Emerson Jr.

This decision ultimately did not pay off for the Chargers.

The Browns would go on to receive the ball in promising field position, and quarterback Jacoby Brissett guided the offense to a six-play, 10-yard drive. In the end, the Chargers escaped with a win after Browns kicker Cade York failed to hit on his 54-yard field goal attempt.

Looking back at the gusty fourth down call, Herbert had no problem with Staley’s decision to keep the offense on the field.

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“I think it says a lot that he believes in us,” Herbert said during his postgame press conference. “Just like I believe in our offensive line, our receivers, and our running backs. I knew that we would go out there and convert. It did not go our way unfortunately, but we were riding with that play. The defense came with that big stop when we were down.”

Speaking during his postgame press conference, Staley noted that he not only had plenty of confidence in the offense on the play but also in the defense to then prevent the Browns from moving the ball down the field with ease.

“I just wanted to finish the game with the ball,” Staley said. “I felt like we liked the play and we liked the matchup. We knew what coverage they were going to be in. We wanted to finish the game on our terms on third down. … It just didn’t go down for us, but I had a lot of confidence in our defense to go out there and get them stopped.

“That was a big motive because we knew that they would have to throw the ball to beat us. We felt like we could cover them. I love the way that our team finished that game. Obviously, the storybook would have been just to finish it right there and walk to victory lane, but that’s not how it went. We had to go play defense.”

The Chargers now boast a 3-2 record on the season and will now look ahead to a pivotal home matchup against the Denver Broncos in Week 6.