Oftentimes this season it has been the Green Bay Packers helping out the opponent with dropped passes. On Sunday against Los Angeles, it was the Packers who benefited from several key drops by the Chargers pass catchers.
The first crucial drop came on the Chargers opening drive on a 4th-and-4. Justin Herbert hit a wide-open Donald Parham over the middle while a few Green Bay defenders had their eyes on Keenan Allen. But rather than the Chargers having a fresh set of downs in field goal range, Parham dropped the ball and the Packers took over at midfield.
In the second quarter, the Chargers faced 3rd-and-5 from the Packers’ 7-yard line. Herbert tried to connect with Allen near the right pylon but it was another drop for Los Angeles. At a minimum, that play would have moved the chains to set up first-and-goal. There was also the opportunity for Allen to score on that play as well, but the Chargers settled for a field goal.
Then in the third quarter, Allen had another crucial drop, this one in the end zone on 3rd-and-goal. But instead, it was another three points for the Chargers rather than seven.
The final key drop came on Los Angeles’ final drive with Quentin Johnston streaking down the right sideline with separation between him and Carrington Valentine. The pass would bounce off his hands and the drive – and game – then ended a play later. Had the ball been caught, Johnston would have had the chance to score the go-ahead touchdown. At worst, the Chargers would have been deep in Packers territory with the opportunity to tie the game with a field goal or take the lead with a touchdown.
“I think we just had some missed opportunities,” said Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert after the game. “I thought we were in position to be able to score some points. You can go down there, and drive and we just have to execute better. It’s on us as an offense to be able to take over those situations and score in the red zone like that. Something that we’ve talked about all year, but I know that we’re capable of doing that. It’s unfortunate that it didn’t happen today.”
When it was all said and done, conservatively, the Chargers potentially had 14 points taken off the scoreboard—three on the first possession, a total of eight on the two red zone drops, and at least three more on Johnston’s drop. At most, it could have been 22. Either way, with even one of those catches being made, the outcome of this game could have swung in the other direction.
With some help from the Chargers pass catchers, the Packers red zone defense helped keep this game in reach for the offense by keeping Los Angeles out of the end zone. On four trips inside the Green Bay 20-yard line, the Chargers converted only one of those opportunities into a touchdown. The Packers also forced a crucial turnover inside their own 10 yard line late in the game that resulted in an empty possession in a game that was decided by only three points.
“Our red-zone defense was really good today,” said LaFleur, “and was one of the keys in the fourth quarter when they took the lead.”
Despite the drops, the Chargers passing game was still able to find their share of success. They were able to move the ball, making their way into the red zone four times, and often did so by generating explosive plays where the pass catchers go the ball in space and picked up large chunks of YAC. Herbert averaged 7.2 yards per attempt while Allen totaled 116 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions.
To a degree, this should have been expected. The Chargers have one of the better scoring offenses in football and want to move the ball through the air. The Packers, meanwhile, featured a secondary with two seventh-round rookies, Corey Ballentine, a primary practice squad player for much of the season, and Jonathan Owens.
This is a matchup that heavily favored the Chargers, so yes, some form of self-inflicted help from Los Angeles was likely always going to have to be a prerequisite to keep points off the board for this short-handed Packers secondary.
“I thought our guys challenged them,” said LaFleur of the Green Bay cornerbacks. “I’ve got to give (Joe Barry) a ton of credit. He was playing some single safety there, which I don’t think a lot of people would, but that’s the style of quarterback you’re going against.
“You’re going against a guy that if you have a lot of softness in your coverage, he’s going to make you pay. He (Justin Herbert) had his fair share of plays today. He is a remarkable player and I think we all saw that and witnessed that.”