The Los Angeles Chargers are now 0-4 and more than half of their original starting lineup on offense are now injured. LA marched into Lumen Field in Seattle on Sunday already banged up
and still searching for an identity on offense.
The Chargers dropped the game to the Seahawks and now have more questions than answers. They looked on the brink of complete surrender in the first half before Justin Herbert appeared to throw the playbook and caution to the wind and brought them back to within one score, but the late-game theatrics were too little too late.
The defense played winning football and did what they needed to do to give their team a chance.
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The game unfolded in truly two different halves for the offense. The defense battled but when the offense and special teams made bone-headed mistakes that put them in tough positions, the defense quickly yielded points. The LA Chargers are at the edge of a cliff for the season, grading every position group is tough, but let's at least highlight the performances that really stood out, good or bad, but the best deserve some recognition too.
Quarterback- D
Justin Herbert may have played his worst half of football in his career to start the game. He opened the game by throwing an interception directly to Seattle's Drake Thomas. I predicted the Chargers would try to attack Thomas in the passing game but Herbert might as well have thrown it right to him. He followed that perfect throw to the defense with another that led to the Chargers being down 20-3.
I'm not sure what switch flipped in Herbert but he appeared to throw the playbook out and started trying to make something happen. He managed to scramble for a big gain before the half ended and helped get within Cameron Dicker's field goal range to at least get three points before the half. The scramble and throw continued into the second half where Herbert led the Chargers to claw back to within one score.
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The Jekyll and Hyde Herbert performance is confusing. Where was this playmaker the whole time? Was his attempt to run the offense just too much? Did he have to take several horrific hits to wake up? Did he have to have three of the five starting offensive linemen go down to switch modes? The entire performance is confusing but the first half cannot be ignored.
Running backs- B
The Chargers three running backs all got snaps and carries in this game and Kimani Vidal and Omarion Hampton both averaged five yards per carry. Keaton Mitchell averaged 3.9 yard per carry and he and Hampton both had an explosive run on the day. Hampton and Vidal both scored on the ground and both scores came off of angry "I will not be denied," runs.
The backs did have a few collective drops in the passing game early but overall were consistent and performed well.
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Wide Receivers- C
Quinton Johnston and Tre' Harris came up big in the final stretch of the game but were nonexistent in the first half. It's hard not to question where the root of the problem was simply because, everyone looked bad in the first half and when the offense found life, so did the receivers.
Tight ends- D+
They weren't asked to do too much but had a rough time blocking. Hayden Rucci had a decent day blocking although did give up a sack. Oronde Gadsden caught five of seven targets on the day including a clutch fourthdown conversion.
Offensive line- F
It was not pretty and both Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater went down. The Chargers on the final two drives were down to zero reserve offensive linemen and four rookies on the field.
The entire defensive front- B+
For the second week in a row, the Chargers defense fought their hearts out. They got the ball back to the offense at a critical moment.
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Tuli Tuipulotu was a game wrecker and the whole front kept the Seahawks running backs in check and applied pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold. They answered the bell when it was time to put their foot down. Teair Tart was a menace consistently harassing the interior offensive line and getting penetration.
Defensive backs and linebackers- C+
The Chargers secondary has been battling injuries. Derwin James was not active, Elijah Molden returned to the lineup, while Donte Jackson left for the second week in a row for separate injuries. The rotations have made communication difficult but multiple missed tackles from both the defensive backs and linebackers lead to explosive plays.
The linebackers played well overall but many of the big plays allowed resulted in the linebackers getting swallowed up by blockers or not getting enough depth in their coverage drops.
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However, the defense did relatively limit Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He entered the game attempting to catch and tie Randy Moss with four straight games of 100 more more yards and a touchdown to start the season. The Chargers defense held Smith-Njigba to his lowest totals of the season with only five receptions for 76 yards.
Special Teams- C
The specialists did their jobs but Derius Davis' muffed punt was an early back breaker.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi as Grading Every Chargers Position Group After Week 4 Disappointment vs. Seahawks
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