4. The defense got gassed late
I thought the defense played lights out about midway through the third quarter. It was clear come the fourth quarter and forward that they were gassed.
Marcus Mariota was breaking off pretty big runs and that huge run by Dion Lewis where it looked like all 11 Chargers on the field tried to tackle him till before he got brought down by Desmond King was a backbreaker.
The Chargers got bailed out by what I believe was a ridiculous decision to go for a two-point conversion by Mike Vrabel. Some people think it was just the wrong play call, but I happen to believe it was both the wrong decision and wrong play call.
The Titans exhausted the Chargers’ defense in the second half and the their defense was playing better in the second half as well. Have some belief in your team and try to take it in overtime. The Titans had the Chargers defense in the fourth, and that’s something they need to get together during the bye, despite hanging on for the win.
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5. Chargers have been great with turnovers
The Chargers are +6 in turnover differential this year, adding another pick by Denzel Perryman. During the Chargers’ four games last year where they went through that terrible 0-4 start, they were a -3 in turnover differential.
When they started winning again and stabilized their season to finish 9-7, they finished with a +12 differential. The Chargers obviously just by record are off to a great start, and winning the turnover battle from the beginning of the year as opposed to having to catch up after a bad start is a big part of that.
They are sixth in the league in turnover differential now with reducing mistakes and making plays on defense, and they’re going to have to keep that up to make the playoffs.
OVERALL
The Chargers got a good win on the back of their offense and defense even though they were shorthanded. They were also somewhat lucky with how the game ended with a botched 2-point conversion by the Titans.
But they got to 5-2, which is their best mark through seven games since 2014. The team’s firing on all cylinders, and just has a few things to clean up on the bye week.