Chargers Looking Out Of Touch With Obvious Lack of Focus

November 3, 2021 Chargers News and Information

The confused Chargers looked out of touch in all phases most of the day against the Patriots. The Chargers were not only outcoached, but outplayed by New England. Sloppy play will not get it done in the NFL. The Chargers appear to be just going through the motions so to speak, or at least that is how it looks. Turnovers, penalties, dropped passes, tipped passes that get picked off, and poor pass protection. The sloppy Chargers are 7 of 24 on third down the last two games. Obviously the poor pass protection is the main reason as it all starts up front, but Herbert is not Herbert when he is rushed. “We had some protection issues,” Staley said. “This guy (Herbert) is getting sped up. We’re doing everything we can to help those guys (upfront).” . Herbert was sacked three times and hit three times also. Keenan Allen dropped a third down pass late in the game and Mike Williams dropped a pass early. Herbert was intercepted once when Austin Ekeler had the ball slip through his hands and another time when Jared Cook turned to his left and the pass went to his right.
Worse still, both pickoffs belonged to Adrian Phillips, a former Charger. Phillips returned the second one for a fourth-quarter touchdown that put the Patriots ahead for good.
“We shouldn’t have lost, for sure,” wide receiver Keenan Allen said. “We beat ourselves. Penalties, turnovers, drops. … I thought the Ravens did a damn good job. Today, it was all us.” Over their past two games, the Chargers are seven of 24 on third down. Their final drive — with New England playing softer to avoid any massive mistakes — was the only one the Chargers kept alive for more than eight plays. Herbert finished 18 of 35 for 223 yards and two touchdowns. But 80 of those yards came on the final drive, which ended with a 24-yard scoring pass to Joshua Palmer with 40 seconds remaining. His quarterback rating was 66.7, the second lowest of his 22 career starts. The next lowest came two weeks ago against the Ravens. And the lowest? Last season against New England. Staley credited the Patriots for making things particularly difficult for his young quarterback, Herbert absorbing three sacks and three other hits.
“We had some protection issues,” Staley said. “This guy (Herbert) is getting sped up. We’re doing everything we can to help those guys (upfront).”
Confusion was apparent during the game and afterward as the Chargers attempted to untangle everything that went wrong.
Following the loss to Baltimore, Herbert admitted the Ravens did some things on defense that the Chargers had not seen on tape, disguised looks that caused problems.
Sunday, Staley said the Chargers anticipated the Patriots playing more zone pass coverage than they had all season, noting that New England was somewhat thin at cornerback.
But Herbert said something different. “We were expecting a lot of man,” he said. “That’s what they’d shown all year but (we) didn’t really get a whole lot of that today.”
Somewhere in the middle of the conflicting remarks, the Chargers have to find a solution. Their offensive output depends on a productive Herbert spreading the ball to his various targets.
New England had a 10-minute advantage in time of possession and ran 17 more plays than the Chargers did. Staley lamented his offense’s inability to remain disciplined and plod its way down the field. “What you have to do is be patient … and there’s a lot of yards available,” he said. “That’s going to be the formula against that defense. … I think that’s what we’ll learn.”
After opening a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, the Chargers went silent on offense. Their defense produced a goal-line stand and forced the Patriots to settle for four field goals.
In the third quarter, safety Derwin James forced a fumble that teammate Nasir Adderley recovered. In the fourth, James stuffed Brandon Bolden for a 1-yard loss on third down with the Chargers leading 17-16. “I really felt like the game was ours to be won,” Staley said of his thoughts after the James stop. “We just didn’t match up offense to defense. … We were just a little out of rhythm.”
Following New England’s punt, the Chargers’ possession ended with the Patriots the ones scoring — on the interception by Phillips.
That’s how out of rhythm the Chargers were Sunday.

The Chargers lost cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. (concussion protocol) and Michael Davis (hamstring) and running back Justin Jackson (quadriceps) during the game. There were no immediate updates afterward.
Next game:
Chargers at Eagles
Sunday: 1:05 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia