LA Chargers: The good, bad and ugly in win vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
By Jason Reed
Justin Herbert tallied his first career win as a starter as the LA Chargers outlasted the Jacksonville Jaguars, 39-29.
Okay, we can all exhale.
That game had all the makings of being a classic LA Chargers blown lead. The team was up 16-0, suddenly found themselves in a 21-16 rut and we all were left thinking “here we go again”.
However, the Chargers utilized their talent advantage and pulled away from the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third quarter with some key touchdowns from Justin Herbert as well as a huge takeaway on special teams.
As we do with every game — win, lose, or tie — here are the good, bad and ugly aspect of this game.
The good:
The pass rush and containing Gardner Minshew
The pass rush was easily the best part of the LA Chargers’ defense against the Jaguars. The Chargers defensive line did really well in containing and getting to Gardner Minshew early in the game and we even saw Gus Bradley call more early blitzes than he typically does.
Joey Bosa came up with some huge tackles, Uchenna Nwosu shined and Melvin Ingram made an impact in his first game back from injury. When the game mattered late, it was the defensive line that stepped up yet again with a huge sack on Minshew to force a long conversion attempt on the Chargers.
Keenan Allen’s day
Keenan Allen was fantastic in this game. He was targeted more than any other pass catcher and was contantly Justin Herbert’s outlet when the Chargers needed to complete a big pass.
On third down late in the fourth quarter Herbert connected with Allen to maintain the drive and essentially put the game on ice. Overall, Allen 10 receptions for 125 yards on 13 targets.
Justin Herbert
This kid is special. That is all. 27 of 43 passing, 347 yards, three touchdowns. Six carries, 65 yards, a rushing touchdown. Everyone: go buy your Justin Herbert jerseys.