The Chargers dropped their first game of the preseason on Saturday in a 16-3 rock fight at home against the Seattle Seahawks.
Los Angeles gained most of their offensive momentum in the second half when both teams had third-stringers in the game, but Seattle’s two first-half touchdowns proved too much to overcome.
What went right
Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s defense looked energized to open the preseason, rife with exotic blitz packages that confused Seahawks quarterbacks Sam Howell and PJ Walker all afternoon. The Chargers played with a renewed aggression, jumping multiple routes and penetrating into the backfield frequently. While that didn’t yield any turnovers on Saturday, it was an encouraging sign that LA will be in position to make plays when games start counting.
On offense, the read option game looked competent, which was about as good as it got for the squad on Saturday. Both Easton Stick and Max Duggan pulled a few handoffs and showcased their running talents. Once Justin Herbert returns from his foot injury in the regular season, that should remain a part of the offense, as Herbert has shown the aptitude to take a few designed runs every week as well.
Special teams also looked good, as has become usual under coordinator Ryan Ficken. Cameron Dicker nailed a 58-yard field goal, his unofficial career-long, for LA’s only points of the evening. Backup returner Jaelen Gill showed some juice with the new kickoff rules. Punter JK Scott sent 8 kicks, an average of 44.5 yards, with a long of 54 and two inside the 20-yard line.
What went wrong
The rest of the offense struggled mightily. The Chargers were missing three running backs – presumed starting rotation Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins, as well as rookie Kimani Vidal – leaving Jaret Patterson, Isaiah Spiller, and Elijah Dotson to shoulder the load for LA. None of the three found much running room against a Seahawks front that played their starters for extended snaps as the Chargers offensive line struggled to generate any push.
Stick looked like he had taken a step backward this offseason, finishing 5 of 13 for 31 yards and an interception. His passes frequently flew too high for their intended targets, leading to an interception off the fingertips of Hayden Hurst and a number of passes that Stick was lucky to fall to the turf.
Los Angeles was also plagued by third- and long-conversions by Seattle’s third-team offense late in the game, allowing conversions on 3rd and 16 and 3rd and 15 on the Seahawks’ fourth-quarter drive. Seattle’s offense was piloted by veteran quarterback PJ Walker at that point, which makes the failure to execute only slightly more excusable.
The bottom line
The pain points for the Chargers were somewhat expected. They elected not to add competition at the backup quarterback spot this offseason – until earlier this week when they signed Luis Perez, who played the last 4:41 of the game. They made a few changes on the interior of the second-team offensive line. Neither of those looked like prudent decisions on Saturday but should be rendered irrelevant when the regular season begins.
Defensively, Los Angeles made clear that the scheme is going to be defined by aggressiveness and plays on the ball. The Chargers narrowly missed a handful of interceptions as they jumped routes all evening, but got their hands on a number of passes to bat them away. Paired with what looked to be a deep and fearsome pass rush, Los Angeles may coalesce into one of the better defenses in the league.