The Chargers came up short on Saturday in their first preseason action of the season, losing 16-3 to the Seahawks at SoFi Stadium.
The defense produced most of the standout plays, while the offense struggled to gain much momentum until third-string quarterback Luis Perez entered the game with less than five minutes remaining. Jim Harbaugh’s squad will regroup before their second preseason contest next week against the Rams.
The rookie undrafted free agent from UCF has been one of the biggest stories of training camp, constantly making plays and drawing praise from defensive coaches. But plenty of those players don’t carry that momentum into game action, which Morris-Brash did on Saturday.
Despite Tuli Tuipulotu and Chris Rumph II both suiting up for the contest, Morris-Brash started the game opposite Tuipulotu on the edge. (Rumph would end up leaving the game with an injury.) The rookie played nearly wire-to-wire, generating a pressure on Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell on the first defensive possession of the game. In the third quarter, he tipped a pass on a free rush on Howell, then forced PJ Walker out of the pocket and into a difficult throw on a fourth quarter rush.
With a potential fifth or even sixth edge rusher spot available on the 53 man roster, Morris-Brash is making a strong push to ensure his is the name in that spot. If things continue at this pace, it may not be long before he starts to nip at Rumph’s heels on the depth chart.
Stick looked as though he’d regressed this offseason, finishing his first half of action 5 of 13 for 31 yards, the lowest total of the five quarterbacks who saw time in Saturday’s game. His passes frequently floated high – Stick’s interception bounced off the fingertips of Hayden Hurst and into the arms of safety Coby Bryant. A number of other passes sailed over receivers’ heads.
Stick didn’t look particularly comfortable under pressure, either, seeming jittery as the rush neared. Despite his rushing talent, he often failed to find the lanes to step up in the pocket.
Harbaugh was fairly blunt about the state of the quarterback room when the team signed Luis Perez earlier this week, saying that he thought Stick hadn’t had enough competition and that Max Duggan and Casey Bauman needed to step it up. With Perez leading the Chargers with 61 passing yards on Saturday, Stick may soon be in danger of yielding the no. 2 quarterback spot if he doesn’t turn it around.
As Ogbonnia puts more and more time between he and a 2022 ruptured patellar tendon, he looks more and more like a key rotational piece on the interior of LA’s defensive line.
The third-year tackle frequently got penetration into the backfield during the first half on Saturday, disrupting rushing lanes and forcing Howell to speed up his reads to get the ball away. While he was only credited with one tackle – a cleanup TFL on a screen to Seahawks running back Kenny McIntosh – Ogbonnia’s impact went well beyond the box score.
It’s an important development for the Chargers, who will need players to step up on the interior to match the fearsome presence on the edge with Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, and Tuli Tuipulotu set to rush the passer.
Matlock was the more hyped of the young Chargers defensive tackle duo coming in to Saturday’s contest, as he’s spent more time working with the first team than Ogbonnia in training camp. But the second year player out of Boise State struggled to defend the run on Saturday, frequently being pushed back by Seahawks offensive linemen as Seattle pushed the ball down the field.
Matlock did have one nice play, blowing up the screen to McIntosh that Ogbonnia eventually finished. But it was overall a shaky showing for the former sixth-rounder, one that the Chargers hope is more of an anomaly than the norm due to the aforementioned need for contributors on the defensive line.
Working as the third outside cornerback behind Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton, who both only played one series, Leonard looked like a confident player who helped lead the second team defense for much of the first half.
Leonard showed a fast trigger in zone coverage, limiting an out route to Jaxson Smith-Njigba and coming up with a PBU on a third down throw to Jake Bobo in the first half. When the second half opened, Leonard had a clear read on a screen to Laviska Shenault, but his eagerness led to a slip on the turf and the play ended up gaining 13 yards. Still, it was a positive sign for Leonard to be in position to make that play, along with the ones he did make. With rookie Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still primarily working with the third team, Leonard’s emergence as the third outside corner is a key one.
Outside of rookie Joe Alt, who played 20 snaps at right tackle and allowed just one pressure, per Next Gen Stats, the Chargers offensive line struggled pretty heavily on Saturday. Granted, Los Angeles did not have presumed starting center Bradley Bozeman or swing guard Jamaree Salyer, but the depth continued to look like an issue.
Part of Stick’s struggles were due to an offensive line that struggled to protect him, especially once both Rashawn Slater and Alt had left the game. Backup left tackle Alex Leatherwood looked consistently slow off the snap, allowing a couple of instant pressures that prevented Stick from working the pass concept. Backup right tackle Foster Sarell had a false start and was only marginally better in pass protection.
In the run game, the Chargers second team got eaten alive for most of the game. Center Brenden Jaimes gave up a big TFL to Seahawks rookie Byron Murphy II. Guard Jordan McFadden missed a block on an Isaiah Spiller run with the Chargers backed up against their own goal line. Spiller narrowly avoided a safety by extending the ball back across the plane.
Seattle kept expected contributors on the defensive line in the game late, but that doesn’t fully exonerate the performance by LA on Saturday. Spiller and Elijah Dotson, who were the running backs for most of the second half, combined for 8 carries for 12 yards.
Niemann got off to an inauspicious start on Saturday, missing a tackle that allowed Seahawks tight end Brady Russell to get into the end zone nearly as soon as he got into the game to replace Daiyan Henley. But as the game went on, Niemann kept making plays, showing why he’s still a valuable depth piece for the Chargers.
The core special teamer finished the evening with 11 tackles and a sack, which came on a blitz in the second quarter and planted Howell to the turf. Niemann was also among the first ones to the ball when the Chargers, led by UDFA Shane Lee, stuffed Seahawks running back George Holani on a fourth and goal run from the 1. Niemann nearly had a second sack when he got free access to PJ Walker, but Walker got the ball away.
Los Angeles will hope that Niemann doesn’t have to play much actual linebacker once the regular season begins. Denzel Perryman did not suit up on Saturday, nor did Junior Colson, who is still recovering from appendicitis. Henley played a few series but is expected to be a major part of the linebacker rotation as well. But it’s a valuable thing that the fourth linebacker on the depth chart is making plays like Niemann did on Saturday, even in the preseason.
For much of Saturday evening, it looked like the Chargers somehow combined the infuriating passing offense of the 2022 team under Joe Lombardi with the incompetent rushing offense of the 2023 squad under Kellen Moore. Some of this was explained by the struggles of Stick and the offensive line, but it was a somewhat disappointing first look at the Greg Roman era.
Neither Stick or Duggan were able to push the ball downfield very much, although Duggan did have one downfield throw completed to Simi Fehoko. That prevented us from seeing the impacts a player like DJ Chark (two targets, zero receptions) or Brenden Rice (three targets, zero receptions) could have in this offense. It wasn’t until Luis Perez came in the game with 4:41 remaining that the Chargers started to uncork the ball – Perez led all three quarterbacks with 61 yards in large part thanks to a 36 yard lance to Jaylen Johnson down the field.
The run game felt a bit stale when the Chargers went away from the read option, which both Stick and Duggan were able to operate with some success. Jaret Patterson did have 38 yards on only 7 attempts, but Isaiah Spiller and Elijah Dotson were unable to generate any positive momentum. The passing concepts were mostly short, quick routes that were often short of the sticks, even in third down situations.
It’s the preseason, meaning that nothing is a finished product. But it would have been nice to see a few more fireworks on Saturday, especially on the ground, where the Chargers are supposed to be placing a bigger emphasis. It just felt a little flat.