Chargers need to cut down on turnovers, penalties in second exhibition game

The Chargers were sloppy in Week 1 of the preseason. They must be more disciplined when they take on the Seattle Seahawks in their second exhibition game.

The Chargers did a lot of good things in their first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. Running backs ran well, receivers had some very nice catches, including what was ESPN’s top reception for preseason Week 1 (it really was awesome), and the defense made some plays, especially on third downs.

However, turnovers and penalties killed them. The Chargers turned the ball over four times compared to Arizona’s one turnover. They lost three fumbles and threw one interception. And the penalties? It was brutal. The Chargers had 15 penalties against them (excluding ones that weren’t accepted), which cost them 155 yards.

They outgained the Cardinals 387-to-174 in total yards but lost the game 24-17. That outcome was a result of undisciplined play by the Chargers. They shot themselves in the foot, and they couldn’t force any turnovers on the other end.

But we knew things were going to be rusty. It was their first game back. Plus, the starters barely played.

And the starters aren’t going to play a ton of snaps when the team takes on the Seattle Seahawks Saturday. We might see one quarter with the starters, with the second-, third- and fourth-stringers taking over for the rest of the game.

That said, we need to see the Chargers fix those two issues. Preseason may be meaningless football, but they can’t have those things happen in the regular season. You can have an extremely talented roster like the Chargers do have, but if you make those kinds of mistakes, you won’t win football games.