Rivers leads Chargers to 38-14 blowout of Browns

CLEVELAND — Ol’ man Rivers keeps rolling along.

Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Tyrell Williams — and the 36-year-old quarterback even threw a block — and Melvin Gordon had three TD runs as the Los Angeles Chargers banged around Cleveland rookie Baker Mayfield and the Browns, 3814 on Sunday.

Rivers continued one of the best starts of his 15-year career, leading the Chargers (4-2) to their third straight win. Rivers finished 11 of 20 for 207 yards and had only one mistake, an interception midway through the fourth quarter.

San Diego did most of its damage on the ground with Gordon running for 132 yards and scoring on runs of 4, 10 and 11 yards. The Chargers had 246 yards rushing.

“There haven’t been too many days where we’ve run for more than we’ve thrown,” Rivers said with a laugh. “But I’ll take them any time we can get them.”

Rivers and Williams connected on scoring plays of 45 and 29 yards in the first half, and Gordon’s 11-yard run put the Chargers up 35-6.

Mayfield’s third start as a pro was a rough one.

The No. 1 overall pick was sacked five times, tweaked his ankle when he slid on a sideline marker and threw two interceptions.

“We didn’t execute,” said Mayfield, who threw a TD pass to tight end David Njoku . “We didn’t do our job. We weren’t detailed. We didn’t do the things that we talked about all week. That’s the most disappointing thing. Any time you don’t do your job — I’m at fault for the majority of that. I’m going to be very hard on myself but we have to be able to look at this and learn from it.”

The Browns (2-31) were blown out after playing five tight games — three going to overtime — and showed there’s still a long road ahead.

While young QBS like Mayfield, Carson Wentz and Patrick Mahomes may be the NFL’S next wave, Rivers is showing that the old guys can still get the job done. He has thrown 15 TD passes with just three interceptions, and he did all he could to block Browns linebacker Jamie Collins to help Keenan Allen pick up a first down despite the Chargers leading 28-6.

“I’m not real comfortable out there,” Rivers said. “But I stayed in front and did not get a holding, so that’s a positive.”

The Chargers weren’t surprised by Rivers’ effort.

“That’s Phil,” said Williams, who had three catches for 118 yards. “He’s competitive and he’s going to stick his nose in there if he gets an opportunity. I’m not surprised at all.”

Los Angeles caught a break on Rivers’ second TD pass to Williams.