LA Chargers: Good, bad and ugly in 31-26 loss to Las Vegas Raiders

The ugly:

The defense

Every part of the defense was ugly in this game. The LA Chargers have a bad habit of making the opposing quarterback look really good and this game was no different.

The Bolts let Derek Carr sling it deep despite not being a quarterback known for having a big arm while also allowing him to scramble despite him not being a mobile quarterback.

Casey Hayward got burned on a deep touchdown to Nelson Agholor and on a big third and long pass to Hunter Renfrow.

It did not stop there, though. The Raiders essentially did whatever they wanted on the ground game. The Chargers were out-muscled on the inside, could not set the edge on the outside and put forth a terrible tackling effort.

The Jack Boyz nickname needs to be immediately revoked. Every team since Week 4 has scored at least 29 points and that has become an easy benchmark to achieve against the Chargers.

To be fair, the defense did tighten up in the fourth quarter to keep it close but allowing 28 points in the first three quarters is still unacceptable.

The special teams unit

This is the worst special teams that the LA Chargers have fielded since 2010. If you don’t recall, the 2010 special teams unit was so historically bad that it made that Chargers team the best team in NFL history to not make the NFL Playoffs.

Penalties and a missed field goal hurt the special teams early and it all culminated in K.J. Hill muffing a punt after a crucial three-and-out forced by the defense. That muffed punt took the air out of the Chargers’ tires. The defense was able to hold the Raiders to just three points, but it still did not matter.

Trey Pipkins:

Trey Pipkins is not a good tackle, period. Pipkins was forced into the game after the first drive as Bryan Bulaga was banged up and did not return. Pipkins proved why he lost the starting left tackle job to Sam Tevi and why Bulaga being healthy is so important for this team.

Hopefully, Bulaga is okay and can return next week because Pipkins is legitimately putting Justin Herbert in danger when he is out there.