Despite already clinching a spot in the playoffs the week prior, the LA Chargers took it to the LA Rams in Week 17 with a definitive 31-10 victory. The Chargers' momentum continues to grow as they did exactly what a playoff team should do against a bad team: beat them soundly.
The Chargers have now secured the sixth seed at worst with a decent chance of getting the fifth seed as long as they can beat the Denver Broncos in Week 18. While they are not playing for their playoff lives, they are still playing for something.
On top of playing for better seeding, the Chargers are also getting final lessons and tune-ups before the playoffs begin in these last two weeks. As far as Week 17 is concerned, there are 3 things that the Bolts (and the fans) should have learned.
1. The run game is the x-factor when it comes to the Chargers offense
Justin Herbert is under center and he is ultimately the one that gives the Chargers a tremendously high ceiling as he is an elite quarterback. However, to win the Super Bowl you have to have a complete offense and for the Chargers, that means getting the running game going.
The Bolts have not had much success running the ball this season while also having a disappointing offense. Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi has rightfully gone under fire as he has not been able to utilize the immense talent on offense properly.
Don't get me wrong, there are many things the Chargers could do better in the passing game and it starts with Lombardi. But this game showed that having a rushing attack that the other team has to respect makes a huge difference.
The Chargers picked up 192 rushing yards in the game, which is the second most this season. This is also the first time that the Chargers scored 30 points since Week 5, which is their no. 1 rushing game of the season.
Those things go hand-in-hand. In the four games in which the Chargers scored 27 or more points they are averaging 156.5 rushing yards per game. In the team's bottom four scoring games this season the Bolts are averaging 56 rushing yards per game.
2. The third-down defense will make or break this Chargers team
The Chargers have undergone a tremendous defensive turnaround in recent weeks, going from one of the worst offenses in the sport to the best. Sure, the competition that they have played has not necessarily been the best but these are still NFL offenses that they are facing. To put together the stretch that the Chargers have put together it not easy, regardless of opponent quality.
If we remove Tyreek Hill's fluky fumble touchdown, this is the fourth-straight game the Bolts have held a team to two or fewer scores.
— Bolt Beat (@BB_Chargers) January 2, 2023
The competition might not be great, but holding four straight NFL offenses to 2 or fewer scores is MASSIVE.
Hats off to this defense.
A big reason why the Chargers have turned it around defensively has been the third-down defense. The Bolts were horrible on third down last season and that has completely changed late this season. Prior to Week 17, the Chargers had the best third-down rate of the last three weeks, allowing just 18.75% of third-down attempts to convert.
The Rams had a bit more success on third down in this game but it was still a pretty good showing by the Chargers. Baker Mayfield and co. converted four of 11 third downs, going 0-4 on third downs in a second half that they were shut out in.
There are still areas of this Chargers defense to attack. The Bolts showed some leakage in the run defense against Cam Akers and the safety play was less than ideal in this game. However, playing as a cohesive unit can overcome some of the talent deficiencies and that is what we have seen in recent weeks.
Playing as a unit also makes you a much harder team to convert against on third down. Whether it be the assignments in coverage or the fantastic blitz packages that Brandon Staley has dialed up, as long as this team can continue playing as a unit on third down the defense will give the offense a chance to win every game.
3. The solution to the Chargers' red-zone passing might be more simpler than we think
Despite having a humanoid at quarterback and plenty of talent around him, the LA Chargers have not been able to throw the ball inside the 20 this season. The team struggled overall in the red zone until they shifted to the mindset of running the ball inside the 20, which has been effective over the last few weeks.
If the Bolts are going to make any kind of playoff run they are going to have to key better in the key area of the field and they know that. Fans have been racking their heads trying to find a solution for a red-zone offense that looks broken.
The best solution might be to move on at offensive coordinator and bring in a new offense, but we know that is not happening yet. Joe Lombardi is going to continue to call games the same way, as much as it pains Chargers fans.
For now, the solution might be a simple one: throw to your tall pass-catchers. Justin Herbert threw two passing touchdowns on Sunday going to two different tie ends in Gerald Everett and Donald Parham.
The throw to Everett was an absolute laser in which Everett sat down between the zones in the middle of the end zone. The throw to Parham was a perfectly-placed pass to take advantage of his height advantage on the matchup.
If we are not going to see the offensive philosophy change then the solution for the passing game in the red zone is going to be throwing to these big-bodied options; this includes the best contested-catch specialist in the league, Mike Williams.
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No more throws behind the LOS from the five-yard line or pass attempts to DeAndre Carter in the back of the endzone. Joe Lombardi needs to utilize the athleticism he has on the field and any particular matchup advantage.