The ChargersThe SeahawksSunday’s game at SoFi Stadium was 37-23. This blowout loss ended a streak of three consecutive wins. The Chargers entered their bye week at 4-3. They are just one game behind the Chargers ChiefsThe AFC West.
Here are some final thoughts, stats and quotes from the Chargers’ second double-digit home loss of the season.
1.Chargers are now facing an even more difficult injury season.
Cornerback J.C. JacksonCoach Brandon Staley announced Monday that Jackson suffered a ruptured patellar tendon and will be out for the rest of the season. Jackson was a Seahawks defender when he sustained the injury. Marquise GoodwinLate in the first period, he was able to get a ball to the goal zone. As he jumped to make a play on Geno Smith’s pass, Jackson’s knee gave out. Goodwin scored the touchdown. Jackson was then air-cuffed off the field.
Receiver Mike Williams has a high ankle sprain and will miss “weeks,” according to Staley. Williams was tackled awkwardly in the fourth quarter by Staley on a fourth down reception. He was dragged onto the turf with his right foot trapped under his body. Through seven games, Williams is the Chargers’ leading receiver with 495 yards.
According to Staley, Chris Rumph, an edge rusher suffered a sprained MCL while protecting on a punt in half two. Rumph, too, will miss “weeks,” Staley said.
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Chargers’ Williams will miss ‘weeks’ with an ankle sprain
The Chargers were already one of the most injuried teams in the NFL. They will now lose Jackson and Williams, two high-profile and high-profile stars. Rumph will also be leaving the team.
How will they respond to this?
Michael DavisJackson was replaced in the second period by Davis, who is expected to replace Asante Samuel Jr. as the starting outside cornerback. Davis has already played quite a bit this season. Jackson had not yet recovered from ankle surgery so he filled in for Jackson. Jackson was still recovering from ankle surgery and he needed to be replaced in Week 3. He was able to replace Jackson in the second half during a Week 5 victory over the BrownsJackson was dismissed for his poor performance. Davis performed well in Cleveland, but was inconsistent Sunday. He gave up two completions on the Seahawks’ back-breaking 17-play field goal drive in the third quarter, including a third-and-4 in the red zone while defending Tyler Lockett.
The Chargers will have a very difficult time replacing Williams’ production, especially with all the injuries they are dealing with at receiver. Keenan AllenAfter missing five games because of a hamstring strain, Allen was able to return Sunday. Allen missed the second half of the game after missing 23 snaps in first half. “He just didn’t feel like he could really burst the way that he wanted to and we didn’t want to risk anything happening to it,” Staley said of Allen. We will wait to see how Allen feels before the Chargers resume practice next week. Additionally, Joshua Palmer missed Sunday’s game with a concussion, his second since August. Jalen GuytonIs out of season due to a torn ACL.
Staley would not put a timeframe on Williams’ return. TruMedia reports that Allen, Williams, and Palmer only took 13 snaps together this season. There are not many viable options for the Chargers on the roster or in the practice squad. DeAndre CarterHe has performed well but is better at slot than outside X. Williams doesn’t. The same goes for Michael Bandy. Jason Moore is on active duty. John Hightower, Joe Reed Keelan DossThey are part of the practice squad. I have not seen any of these players make a difference.
Do the Chargers try to make a move at receiver — or even corner — before the trade deadline?
“We are always going to look for avenues to enhance our team and make it better,” Staley said. “So if those avenues are possible, then we’ll definitely explore them.”
The Chargers were already weak at edge rusher when Rumph was down. Joey Bosa has been out since Week 3 after undergoing groin surgery, and while he is “making progress,” according to Staley, the Chargers still are not putting a timetable on his return. Rumph was rotating with Kyle Van Noy at edge rusher in Bosa’s absence, and the Chargers were banking on Rumph continuing to carve out a bigger role as he got more playing time. The Chargers have Van Noy and Derreck Tszka left, whom they claimed off waivers. TitansIn Week 4. Based on the number of players in the position, I believe a move must be made here. Kyler FackrellHe is now a free agent after he had three sacks and served as a solid run defender for Chargers last year.
J.C. Jackson’s debut season with the Chargers is over after Sunday’s injury. (Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today)
2. Staley on dealing with all these injuries: “We got to keep it moving. It’s the NFL. That kind of resilience is essential, and it’s necessary to be able solve problems. I think, hopefully, our guys are seeing that it may not be pretty when you’re figuring it out. We were 3-0 in Weeks 4-6. And, yes, it might not be how others want us win, or how we actually want to win. But, you know what? We were able find a way to do it. So that’s to be our mindset: How do you get it done? How can you win these victories in the NFL even though it is difficult? And that’s going to be our mindset moving forward. I think, through seven games, we’ve learned a lot, but as hard as we’ve had to fight through seven games, we’re going to have to fight a hell of a lot harder in these last 10 to 13 games.”
3.The Chargers have many offensive issues. I’ll be going into them in depth in my annual statistical deep dive. Because it was the main reason why the Chargers failed to move the ball effectively against the Seahawks, I want me to address one of those issues.
Right now, the run game is in chaos.
The Chargers running backs finished with just 31 yards rushing on 12 attempts on Sunday — a 2.58 yards per carry average. TruMedia reported that it was the worst rushing performance by any team in the league on Sunday, based on expected points per designed rush.
The blocking was simply not adequate. The offensive line and tight ends were slow and lost time at the point-of-attack. This was the case with Corey LinsleyThis only increases the concern. Linsley was sick with food poisoning during Week 6.
The Chargers are 27th in rushing DVOA, Football Outsiders’ efficiency metric. TruMedia has ranked them 23rd for EPA per designed rush. According to TruMedia, they finished 14th in rushing DVOA for 2021 and 15th in EPA Per Designed Rush for 2021.
Austin EkelerHe told me in the locker area that he had approached the offensive line following the game and had a conversation with them as the Chargers were getting ready to go into their bye.
His message was: They need to discover their strengths schematically.
“We got to come together,” Ekeler said he told the O-linemen. “We got to figure out what we like because we’re trying to find it, we’re trying to find it. We feel like we have a good plan going into the week, but then it comes to the game, and it’s been up and down, all over the place. So I just want to make sure we’re connected when we’re coming forward with the run game. You never know how it’s going to be. We still have to go out and execute even if we do come together and are a little bit more connected with what the plays are and things like that, making sure that we do like specifically how we’re going to run it against what we’re expecting. But I don’t know. We still have to go out there and execute regardless of what we’re calling.”
I then asked Ekeler about why he felt that way.
“I feel like we have good calls, but I just want to make sure we don’t get disconnected, I guess would be the reason,” Ekeler said. “I don’t want coaches, I don’t want us to get discouraged about how we can’t run the ball.”
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4.The Chargers have had to deal with many injuries on offense, including the offensive line. I believe that this is one of the main reasons for their inconsistent running game. Left tackle Rashawn SloperHe is a great run blocker. After having his biceps operation after Week 3, he is now out for the long-term. His replacement Jamaree SalyerThe skill set of, is very different. In a win over Salyer, Salyer took control three games prior. Houston. Linsley has been in and off the lineup. Right tackle Trey Pipkins IIIHe is currently undergoing treatment for a sprained MCL that he sustained in Cleveland. Tight end Donald Parham Jr.He has only participated in two games. As tight ends, receivers play a role in the run-blocking scheme. We’ve already discussed how few of these players were on the field together.
I brought up Austin’s comments to Staley on Monday.
“We have some inventory now with the group that’s been blocking over the last three games,” Staley said. “We have some good inventory with the group that has been playing out there, the tight end group that has been playing out there, the receiver group. It’s different from the team that we took to the field in the first two games. I think Austin is thinking what we’re all thinking. It is important to have a unique identity that is based on your strengths and weaknesses. … We want to be able to feature what they do well and be able to attack. I think that’s where our mind’s going to be in the next several days and then, obviously, next week getting into the plan.”
5.The offense is another area that we will be looking into later this week. Football Outsiders ranks the Chargers 16th in offensive DVOA this season. They were a top-five offense according to that metric last seasons.
I asked Staley how he would assess offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi’s performance through seven games this season.
“It’s been a much different season for him than last season,” Staley said. “We’re 4-3, and I think that record puts us in position to accomplish a lot in the second half of the season, and I think when you’ve had as many significant adjustments to make, that’s the sign of a good coach. And I think any time you lose an All-Pro left tackle, an All-Pro receiver, you’ve had three or four receivers out at a time, a tight end that’s a weapon, I mean, there’s been a lot of moving parts, and I think that he’s done a good job keeping us together. I think his experience is something that we lean on because he’s had to go through it as an NFL coach. I think he’s put us in a position to be 4-3, and he’s got to make improvements just like the rest of us do, but I know how hard he works, I know the level of preparation and the level of detail. And just glad that he’s our offensive coordinator.”
6.Pipkins isn’t the same player as before the injury. It is obvious on film and it is clear from the statistics. According to Pro Football Focus, Pipkins didn’t give up a single sack during his first five games. In that time, he only gave up seven pressures. In the two previous games, he has surrendered eight pressures and two bags. Pipkins was beaten by Darrell TaylorIn the first quarter. Taylor stripped Justin HerbertThe Seahawks recovered the fumble and kicked a field goal on their next possession to increase their lead to 17-0.
7. The Chargers’ run defense got gashed for another long gain Sunday, this one a 74-yard touchdown from rookie Kenneth Walker IIIThat iced the game in quarter four. The Chargers have given up 52, 50, 75 and 41 yards runs this season. Walker’s 74-yard run was very similar to fellow rookie Dameon Pierce’s 75-yard touchdown run in the Texans game. The pitch is to the right. Chargers lost the edge. The misfits of linebackers, defensive backs. You can also pay dirt. Nick Chubb’s 41-yard run against the Chargers was also to the right side. All three of those runs — from Walker, Pierce and Chubb — were outside runs away from Khalil Mack’s side. Bosa is not available for the Chargers in run defense.
The Chargers are now 24th in rush defense DVOA after spending significant capital this offseason to improve their run defense. They were 30th last year. Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson — the Chargers’ two free-agent acquisitions on the interior — have been really solid against the run this season. Their pieces have not been consistent enough.
“Guys are just trying to do too much,” Staley said. “Everyone just has to play their part in the play. If people do that, if they just play their part in the play, and not try to make plays outside of their job description, then you’re going to play consistently well. On the long runs this season, there have been those types of issues in the play.”
8. I felt like Sunday’s game really flipped early in the first quarter. The Chargers’ defense came up with a big takeaway on the opening possession of the game when Samuel broke up a Smith pass attempt underneath, and Kenneth Murray Jr.The ball was tipped. The Seattle 41-yard line was taken over by the Chargers. Ekeler was tackled on a first-down pass. Ekeler lost Herbert’s second-down checkdown and Ekeler was unable to complete it. Herbert set up an additional third-an-2 after Ekeler misplaced. Tre’ McKitty recovered. Ekeler took the handoff to the right, and almost picked up the first down on third down. However, the refs disqualified him. Ekeler hit the wall on fourth-and-4 inches when Herbert gave him the handoff up the middle. The sticks are short. Turnover on downs. The Seahawks scored the game’s opening touchdown on the next possession when Samuel lost Goodwin on a fade route on third-and-15 from the 20-yard line.
After the game, Ekeler said to me that he should have bounced the play to the outside on fourth down. If he had made that move, he would have been one on one with the cornerback. Ekeler stated that the Seahawks blocked his middle, and that he did not make the right reading based on the alignment.
The Seahawks won 17 consecutive points. If Ekeler gets that first down, I believe this game will go very differently. Staley said he did not call for a Herbert sneak because of the Seahawks’ tight defensive line alignment.
(Top photo: Mike Williams is being assisted off the field by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
