LA Chargers: Team grades from Justin Herbert’s explosion against the Jags
Receivers and defensive line
Keenan Allen is back to do the heavy lifting on offense. Against the Saints, Allen suffered back spasms midgame and missed most of it. 10 receptions for 125 yards in this game helped the Chargers’ receiver lead the team in receiving once again.
Other than Allen dominating the game, it was a team effort in splitting the other targets. Jackson and Kelley had five apiece, while Virgil Green and Donald Parham each caught a touchdown. Herbert seems to really like hitting Jalen Guyton deep, as he hit him for a 70 yard touchdown to tie the score at 29-29.
Mike Williams was on the outside looking in this game. His only reception came from Easton Stick for four yards. Other than the New Orleans game, Williams has weirdly never quite been on the same page with Herbert. It’s something I’d like to see become more consistent over the next few games.
The defensive line was perfect in the pass rush but terrible in the run game. Melvin Ingram‘s presence was felt in this one, even if it didn’t necessarily show on the stat sheet. There was clearly more juice on the defensive line with Joey Bosa, Ingram, and Uchenna Nwosu all having great days. Kyzir White even joined in on the fun when he got a sack on Gardner Minshew.
All together, the Chargers had five sacks and destroyed Jacksonville’s offensive line when Minshew dropped back to pass. Stopping the run was a massive problem though. James Robinson totaled 119 yards on the ground, one touchdown, and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Whenever he got decent push from his offensive line, it felt like it was a guaranteed seven yards.
The Chargers’ run defense being problematic largely has to do with Justin Jones still recovering from injury. He played about 52% of the snaps in this one, much lower than his 75% of snaps from Week 1 against Cincinnati. I’d also have to do a deeper film study on this, but it felt like the Chargers’ interior got gashed more often when one of Linval Joseph or Jones wasn’t on the field.
Receivers: B+
Defensive Line: B-