INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The debut for Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers offense was a dud.
It was the opening game of the preseason, and as such, putting too much stock in this showing would be an overreaction. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman said this week that the Chargers were going to play “basic football.” At the same time, the Chargers offense looked overwhelmed and overmatched for much of Saturday’s 16-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Harbaugh played a number of offensive starters. Left tackle Rashawn Slater, left guard Zion Johnson, right guard Trey Pipkins III, right tackle Joe Alt, receiver DJ Chark and tight ends Will Dissly and Hayden Hurst all saw action. The Chargers still struggled to move the ball with any consistency, especially early in the game.
They did not have a first down until their seventh possession, late in the second quarter. Easton Stick, who started and played the entire first half, completed just 5 of 13 pass attempts for 31 yards, with an interception. The run game was mostly inefficient. Outside of one Jaret Patterson 16-yard run on the Chargers’ final possession of the first half, running backs combined for 34 yards on 14 carries.
“Offensively,” Harbaugh said, “we underperformed.”
Justin Herbert watched from the sideline, still in the walking boot he has been wearing on his right foot for the past 10 days. The Chargers said in a statement that they expect Herbert to be ready for the regular season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 8. He is dealing with an injury to the plantar fascia. If Herbert returns on schedule, he will surely lift this unit.
However, if Herbert does miss any time this season, then there should be mounting concern over what the Chargers have behind him at quarterback.
GO DEEPER
At what point do the Chargers’ offensive struggles in training camp become a concern?
Thus far, Stick has not been able to build off the four starts he made down the stretch of last season when Herbert was out with a fractured finger. Stick has been up and down as a passer in training camp practices. That has now translated to game action.
On the opening play of the Chargers’ second drive, Stick rolled right on a play-action boot. Chark was open on an over route, sprinting toward the right sideline. Stick had him, but he hesitated and threw too late. The ball ended up falling incomplete.
“We missed some throws,” Harbaugh said.
On the first drive of the second quarter, Stick threw a dangerous pass over the middle to Hurst. He tried to drop a pass in between Seahawks linebacker Jon Rhattigan and safety K’Von Wallace. It was an ill-advised decision. Wallace closed on Hurst and delivered a massive hit. The ball tipped off Hurst’s fingers, and defensive back Coby Bryant picked it off. Hurst was down briefly before jogging off. That was the last snap Hurst played in the game.
“Frustrating,” Stick said when asked about his performance.
.@Seahawks intercept the tipped pass and take over in Chargers territory
📱: Stream #SEAvsLAC on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/vR2CHkOMXE
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2024
Max Duggan replaced Stick to start the second half. He went 4-of-7 passing for 41 yards. Duggan added 15 yards on the ground on two carries.
Duggan struggled with his accuracy. He threw behind rookie receiver Jaylen Johnson on a dig route off play action late in the third quarter. That pass fell incomplete. Later in that drive, Duggan connected with receiver Simi Fehoko down the seam for a 29-yard gain. Fehoko was wide open. Even that throw was off the mark. Fehoko had to adjust to the throw, which was behind him. Fehoko might have scored if it was an accurate throw.
Luis Perez was the third quarterback in the game. He looked the best of the three. He hit Johnson down the right sideline on a go ball late in the fourth quarter. The 36-yard completion was the Chargers’ longest play of the game.
hello luis perez
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— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 11, 2024
Perez led the Chargers with 61 passing yards. He played the fewest snaps of the quarterbacks with 14.
The Chargers finished with 198 total yards and just nine total first downs.
“The offense struggled,” Harbaugh said. “A lot of work to be done.”
Worth noting: Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers lost 24-3 in their first preseason game in 2011. The offense managed just 10 first downs and 234 total yards. Quarterbacks Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick combined for 127 yards passing on 26 attempts.
The 49ers went 13-3 that season and made it to the NFC Championship Game.
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Young DBs around the ball
On the other side of the ball, Jesse Minter’s defense had a really encouraging first game.
The most interesting development was how Minter deployed his defensive backs in the pass rush. Safety JT Woods had a pressure on a third-down blitz in the second quarter. He got home to quarterback Sam Howell but could not make the tackle. Linebacker Troy Dye cleaned it up for a sack.
t as in troy
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— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 11, 2024
“You’re going to have a defense where there’s going to be opportunities for you to make plays on the ball and then plays on the QB also, just getting blitzes,” said Woods, who also had a pass breakup in coverage. “Coach Minter does a great job of putting guys in very advantageous situations, so it’s been a lot of fun. “
Rookie nickel cornerback Tarheeb Still batted down two passes while blitzing in the second half.
“At nickel, you can do a lot,” Still said. “You can cover the shifty, faster guys in the slot. Also you can blitz the quarterback. So you can affect the game in many ways. I feel like I’m a versatile player. I can do that. And in the defense that we run here, if you can do that in the slot, you’ll make a lot of plays.”
Rookie safety Thomas Harper also had a second-down sack on a blitz in the fourth quarter. And safety AJ Finley, who started next to Alohi Gilman, batted down a pass on a blitz in the third quarter.
Outside of a couple breakdowns in coverage in the fourth quarter, the Chargers played a sound game on defense. They allowed a third-and-17 conversion and a third-and-15 conversion on one drive. Receiver Easop Winston Jr. beat cornerback Matt Hankins on a dig route on the third-and-17. Receiver Cody White beat rookie cornerback Zamari Walton on a dig on the third-and-15.
The Chargers also lost receiver Dareke Young on an over route off play action early in the third quarter. That 26-yard completion was the Seahawks’ longest play of the game.
“We really didn’t cover those well, the dig routes and the overs,” Harbaugh said.
The positive on the Young completion: Woods made an open-field tackle from safety to prevent a disaster.
The highlight for the defense was a goal-line stand in the third quarter. Rookie linebacker Shane Lee stood up Seattle running back George Holani.
“I thought we (played) winning football defensively,” Harbaugh said.
News and notes
• Chargers who did not dress: Herbert; safety Derwin James Jr.; edge rusher Joey Bosa; edge rusher Khalil Mack; running back Gus Edwards; receiver Joshua Palmer; cornerback Cam Hart; Derius Davis; linebacker Junior Colson; running back J.K. Dobbins; offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer; linebacker Denzel Perryman; center Bradley Bozeman; fullback/tight end Ben Mason; receiver Ladd McConkey; and running back Kimani Vidal. McConkey and Vidal were in uniform for warmups but changed to T-shirts and shorts before kickoff.
• Bosa had a wrap on his left hand/wrist while standing on the sideline during the game. The wrap was off in the locker room after the game as Bosa was heading to the bus.
• Edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu and rookie edge rusher Tre’Mon Morris-Brash both rushed well. They each had a pressure. Morris-Brash created pressure on a third-down bull rush on the defense’s first possession of the game. He hit Howell’s arm as he threw to force the incompletion and get the defense off the field.
• Alt was solid in his 21 snaps. According to TruMedia, he allowed one pressure in 13 pass-blocking snaps. “It was really solid,” Harbaugh said of Alt’s NFL debut. “Joe belongs.”
• Linebacker Nick Niemann led the Chargers with 12 tackles, including a sack late in the first half. The linebackers were also very effective on blitzes.
(Photo of Easton Stick: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
