EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — In the spring, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter defined the vision he had for his unit. He called the Chargers’ edge rushers the “strengths of our defense.”
“We want to accentuate our strengths,” Minter said. “Let them affect the game, do things that they do really well.”
It was only one joint practice in August, and the opposing offensive line was missing three starters. These caveats are important to note. Still, Sunday, the Chargers defense’s performance against the Los Angeles Rams was Minter’s vision come to life.
The Chargers’ edge rushers were consistently disruptive during team drills against Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense. Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack wrecked practice. Mack had at least two sacks and a pressure. Bosa had a sack, and Stafford lost the ball on the play. Bosa also had a pressure leading to a checkdown and a pressure forcing a throwaway. He added a tackle for loss and a stuff in the run game.
“He’s a monster,” Minter said.
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Bosa and Mack were the catalysts for a dominant performance by the Chargers defense.
The Chargers forced six turnovers during team drills, and the pressure up front was why.
Bud Dupree and Tuli Tuipulotu, the Chargers’ second line of edge rushers, also got involved. On the second play of the two-minute drill, Tuipulotu batted a Stafford pass into the air. Kristian Fulton, perhaps the Chargers’ best coverage player Sunday, came down with the tipped ball for the interception. At times, the Chargers featured Mack, Bosa and Dupree rushing together. Dupree batted down a pass during Stafford and the Rams first-team offense’s second attempt at the two-minute drill.
another one thank u pic.twitter.com/lBGraKaTp0
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 4, 2024
“There’s been defenses that are great in the back end, where that really helps the pass rush, where they can play a lot of tight, tight coverage and a guy holds the ball for an extra second,” Minter said Sunday. “I think we can do that eventually, but at the same time, we have these guys that can speed up the quarterback’s clock, that are elite rushers, elite edge guys. And so, yeah, we expect those guys that are quote-unquote your best players to lead the charge.”
The relentless pressure on the edges opened up lanes to the interior. Defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia batted a pass in 11-on-11. Linebacker Denzel Perryman picked off that tipped ball. Defensive lineman Scott Matlock also had a sack early in practice.
“The ball was like a volleyball today,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “It was tipping up everywhere.”
The pressure paved the way for a shutdown practice from the back seven. Safety Alohi Gilman forced a fumble on a third down after Stafford checked down to running back Blake Corum. On a broken play in the red zone, Dupree provided pressure off the left side. Late in the down, Stafford forced a throw in a scramble drill to the back-left corner of the end zone, intended for receiver Puka Nacua. James tracked Nacua and leaped to break up the pass. Cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. then hauled in the tipped ball for an interception with a toe-tap catch, just before stepping out of bounds.
“I think they can see,” Minter said of his secondary. “Sometimes in practice, it’s different. But now I think when you turn on the tape today, they’ll see, like, ‘Man, I probably made that play today because Khalil was right in his face.’ So that builds just confidence in the group, that built confidence in your teammates.”
Fulton had the interception in the two-minute drill, one of several excellent plays he had in coverage.
On a two-play sequence in 11-on-11, Fulton matched up with Rams receiver Cooper Kupp. The first play was a third-and-5. The second was a third-and-8. On the first, Stafford attempted a go ball to Kupp down the left sideline. Fulton did well to challenge the ball through the catch and forced the incompletion. On the next play, Kupp was coming open on an out-breaking route to the left sideline. Fulton was underneath. Gilman was over the top. Stafford tried to hit Kupp in the hole between the two defenders. Fulton read the pass, retreated and leaped. With an outstretched arm above his head, he knocked the pass away for his second straight pass breakup.
Fulton also made a great read on a bubble screen to Kupp to the left side. He shot a gap and touched down Kupp for no gain. Later, in the red zone, Fulton was one-on-one with Nacua to the outside on a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Nacua ran a fade. Stafford threw a jump ball. Fulton contested the pass and forced Nacua out of bounds for the incompletion.
“A lot of times with DBs, the mental space, the confidence, the feeling that the guys around you believe in you, it’s so important, because you’re on an island a lot of times,” Minter said of Fulton. “You feel like it’s all up to you when you’re a DB, the last line of defense. And so I think he’s just in a really good headspace. Guys believe in him. The coaches believe in him.”
Linebacker Nick Niemann also had his second interception of training camp, against Jimmy Garoppolo and the Rams’ second-team offense. It was the Chargers defense’s first turnover. Garoppolo forced a throw over the middle to receiver Tyler Johnson. Safety Tony Jefferson broke on the route and tipped the ball in the air. Niemann intercepted the deflected pass.
“Results build confidence,” Minter said.
picks on picks 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/7XmZde9OQd
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 4, 2024
The other component of the Chargers’ performance that jumped out was their physicality. The Chargers were going up against a different team for the first time this camp, and it showed in their play. Stafford handed off to Nacua on a jet sweep in the red zone. Gilman delivered a big hit on Nacua at the goal line. On the previous play, James popped Corum on a rush to the left. The hit was audible from the sideline.
“We want to be tone-setters,” James said. “I know me and Lo, that’s always our motto.”
It would have been close to a perfect defensive day for the Chargers if not for an injury late in practice. Bosa went down on a rush off the right side. He was grabbing at his left hand/wrist, went inside with trainers and did not return.
Bosa must stay on the field. His presence and play are paramount for the defense to perform like this when games begin Sept. 8.
Sunday was a step in the right direction nonetheless. The pass rush has the potential to elevate the secondary. That is how Minter is building this defense. It came to fruition against the Rams.
“If we just do our job,” James said, “this is what can happen.”
News and notes
• Quarterback Justin Herbert, who is out with an injury to his plantar fascia, was on the field for Sunday’s practice. He had a walking boot on his right foot and watched while wearing a white No. 10 T-shirt jersey.
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• Other Chargers who did not practice: receivers Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Leon Johnson III, offensive linemen Trey Pipkins and Jamaree Salyer, linebacker Junior Colson, running back Kimani Vidal and tight end Donald Parham Jr. Parham and Johnston were suited up in pads but did not participate. McConkey and Salyer were not on the field. Colson, Vidal, Johnson and Pipkins were in T-shirts and shorts.
• A young player who jumped out: rookie edge rusher Tre’Mon Morris-Brash, who had two tackles for loss in run defense. The edge rusher position is jam-packed. The Chargers could keep five among Bosa, Mack, Tuipulotu, Dupree and Chris Rumph II. But Morris-Brash is someone to watch for the practice squad. He is an undrafted rookie out of Central Florida.
• Ja’Sir Taylor has firmly claimed the starting spot at nickel. He took all the first-team reps there Sunday. Taylor comes off the field when James moves into the slot in the big-nickel package. Taylor made a couple of quality plays in coverage Sunday. He stuffed Rams running back Kyren Williams on a checkdown to the flat. He also closed down Nacua on a corner route in the red zone, forcing a Stafford overthrow.
• Elsewhere in the secondary, AJ Finley took all the first-team reps as the third safety when James moved around into the slot or to dimebacker in dime packages. Finley has created considerable distance in the battle for that spot.
(Photo of Joey Bosa: Jevone Moore / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
