Predicting key storylines for Browns vs. Chargers: Ashley Bastock

BEREA, Ohio — The Browns are looking to start a little win streak before their bye week as they welcome the Los Angeles Chargers to town on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

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Cleveland finally got its second win of the year last week, a 29-24 upset over the Baltimore Ravens, with Jameis Winston at quarterback.

The Chargers have won two of their last three, including last week against the New Orleans Saints, 26-8.

So will the Browns make it two in a row? Or will L.A. give them more questions to answer?

Here are several storylines to know ahead of Week 9, as well as predictions on how I think each will turn out:

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Winston was named AFC offensive player of the week f or his performance in that win over the Ravens.

He went 27 of 41 passing for 334 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 115.3 rating. Trailing 24-23 with 2:36 remaining, Winston engineered a nine-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 38-yard touchdown pass to WR Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds remaining.

On the game-winning drive, he completed 6 of 9 passes for 74 yards.

Winston also avoided near disaster, however, as the Ravens had three dropped would-be interceptions.

"That's a constant thing you're harping on the quarterbacks about," offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said this week.

"You're constantly talking about, one, decision making and making sure we're doing the right things with the football, and then two, ball placement. Ball placement is huge for us to obviously guarantee completions and then maximize YAC opportunities for our receivers."

: This is an interesting matchup considering the Chargers have the ninth-ranked pass defense and are allowing 193.4 yards per game. They are middle of the pack, tied for 12th in the league with six interceptions.

They are certainly a better pass defense than the Ravens, who were ranked last in the league and missing their two top corners in Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins.

It's hard to guess how this one might go. because Winston can be so prone to turnovers. But with the Chargers not forcing them at a high rate now, I'll take a more conservative guess and go with the Browns QB getting picked off once.

Against the Ravens last week, the Browns defense did a good job on the ground limiting Derrick Henry, the NFL's leading rusher, to 73 yards and one TD on 11 carries.

So can they have a similar result this week against a Chargers team that likes to run the ball with, ironically, two former Ravens' running backs in J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards.

This season, Dobbins has rushed for 535 yards and four touchdowns on 112 carries, while Edwards is second with 113 yards on 38 carries.

Prediction: I think the Browns defense is finding a groove, and their interior D-line is more whole with both Maurice Hurst and Mike Hall Jr. having returned to the lineup over the last couple weeks.

It will be harder, though, without linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, (neck) who was placed on IR Saturday . They will need another strong performance from Mohamoud Diabate.

My guess is the Browns will limit the Chargers here, knowing how much they run. If the Browns can pull it off, it's going to help them get a win.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh has already left his imprint on the Chargers through his first seven games.

So the question is, will they come into Cleveland and bully the Browns, a team that has struggled to find its identity through the first part of the season?

"He is all football," Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said this week when asked about his two years playing for Harbaugh in San Francisco. "He is all football all the time. I would say the thing that I talked to our players about earlier in the week was, he is about toughness, physicality, finish, hard work."

Prediction: A week ago, I would have said the Browns seem susceptible to getting bullied by this team.

But with Winston at QB, and getting a big win over Baltimore, I just think Cleveland has a different energy — and that's a good thing.

All hope isn't lost yet, and the Browns won't let this Chargers team come to their home turf and beat them up.