Tag: Chargers score

5 takeaways from Chargers’ 28-14 victory over Raiders in Week 4

Highlighting everything notable from the Los Angeles Chargers’ victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

On Monday night, the Chargers picked up a victory over their division rival, handing the Raiders their first season loss by a final score of 28-14.

Here are five quick takeaways from Los Angeles’ victory in Week 4:

Justin Herbert is that guy

Herbert was lights out in the first half, completing 20 of his 25 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Then, in the second half, Las Vegas’ defense finally started to get to him with additional pressure. Yet, the 23-year old still managed to stay composed throughout and contributed to setting up the offense’s fourth and final touchdown of the night to tie the bow late in the fourth quarter. On that drive, Herbert converted on fourth down for the second time on three attempts. Finishing the game with 25 of 38 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, Herbert continued to justify that the sky is the limit with him under center.

Rock on, Austin Ekeler

It was only a matter of time until Ekeler was going to steal the offensive spotlight. Well, it finally came in primetime. It was clear that Joe Lombardi wanted to take advantage of a subpar run defense, which is what Ekeler and an offensive line with a 79% run block win rate did, finishing the game with a career-high 117 yards on 15 carries (7.8 yards per carry). Ekeler powered a crucial fourth-quarter scoring drive that burned over five minutes of the game clock, which resulted in an 11-yard rushing touchdown to close out the game. His presence in the passing game also paid dividends, with one of his three receptions going for a score.

There are the tight ends

Wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams had the least productive performances up to this season, combining for only 48 receiving yards. Instead, it was the tight ends time to make their presence known. Leading the group, veteran Jared Cook finished with six receptions for 70 yards and the game’s first touchdown. Cook was an integral piece in critical situations, as he caught both targets on fourth down. Donald Parham finally provided some value in the red zone with a touchdown catch following Cook’s. Stephen Anderson continued to make his money as a blocker, but he also made a play in the passing game that went for 34 yards.

Defense fired on all cylinders

Coming into this matchup, the Raiders had eight straight games with over 400 yards of offense. That was until they met the Chargers’ defense, which stymied them to only 51 yards in the first half and 251 yards altogether. Defenders were swarming on all three levels. They sacked Derek Carr four times and finally played physically enough up front to limit the running game to 48 yards. Aside from a couple of hiccups in coverage, the secondary kept nearly everything in front throughout all four quarters, with credit going to pass rush too, not allowing a receiver to go for over 100 receiving yards and holding Carr, the league leader in passing yards (entering Week 4), under 200. Derwin James’ fourth-quarter interception sealed the deal.

Aggressive, effective, efficient

These are the words to describe Brandon Staley and his game management. While all the players mentioned above are worth applauding for the outcome of this game, it would not mean anything not to include Staley, whose vital decisions also guided the team to victory. Refusing to punt and give the ball back to the Raiders, Staley went for it on fourth down three times, two of which the offense converted. The 13-yard conversion on 4th-and-2 in the fourth quarter between Herbert and Cook led to the game-winning touchdown by Ekeler. In addition, Staley challenged and successfully won the challenge of the spot late in the second quarter, which ultimately gave the Chargers the ball back, and the team went on to score right before the half. After enduring double-digit blown leads the past few seasons due to poor game management, Staley has completely changed the narrative in Los Angeles.

Predictions for Chargers vs. Raiders, Week 4

The Chargers Wire staff shares their predictions for the Week 4 matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders.

The Los Angeles Chargers are set to meet up with the Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC West showdown in primetime on Monday night.

After downing the Kansas City Chiefs a weekend ago, the Bolts will look to defeat the Raiders and take control of the division. Las Vegas, on the other hand, is seeking to stay undefeated.

Who’s going to come out on top?

Here are our final score predictions for Monday night’s big game:

Watch: Scenes after Chargers’ win over Chiefs

Watch as the Chargers celebrated a 30-24 over the Chiefs.

2014. That was the last year the Chargers started 1-0 in the AFC West, until today.

In a statement victory over the Chiefs on Sunday, Los Angeles improved to 2-1 on the season while Kansas City fell to 1-2 and last place in the division.

After snapping a seven-game home win streak for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, watch below as the Bolts celebrated the 30-24 win, including head coach Brandon Staley’s post-game speech.

Live tweet updates from Chargers vs. Chiefs

If you’re away from a television and want to stay locked in to the matchup between the Chargers and Chiefs, we have you covered.

The Chargers are set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 of the 2021 regular season in just a few moments.

If you’re away from a television and want to be informed of the game, we will have you covered.

Twitter reacts to Chargers’ loss to Cowboys in Week 2

What the general population thought of the Chargers’ Week 2 loss to the Cowboys.

After winning a tight battle last weekend, it appeared that one-score losses were a thing of the past for the Chargers. Not the case, as Los Angeles lost to the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 on a last-second field goal Sunday.

In a game that was made up of wild series of events highlighted by questionable calls made by the referees, here’s a look at how social media reacted:

Live tweet updates from Chargers vs. Cowboys

If you’re away from a television and want to stay locked in to the matchup between the Chargers and Cowboys, we have you covered.

The Chargers are set to take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2 of the 2021 regular season in just a few moments.

If you’re away from a television and want to be informed of the game, we will have you covered.

WR Mike Williams looks like completely different player for Chargers

In his new role, Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams will be an integral passing game piece.

Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi gave us a heads up that wide receiver Mike Williams was going to play a big role this season.

It showed up in the season opener against Washington.

Targeted 12 times, Williams posted a career-high in receptions with eight. The impressive stat is one thing, but how he produced the numbers is what stood out the most.

After being relegated to a jump ball specialist since entering the league back in 2017, Williams made the majority of his money in the short and intermediate levels of the field.

Instead of being restricted to primarily vertical routes, Williams made the most of an expanded route tree, using power in his strides and timing rhythm in his routes to create passing windows.

Williams finished with 82 yards and the touchdown late in the game that sealed the deal for Los Angeles.

“Analytically, statistics, they say red zone fades are low percentage,” head coach Brandon Staley said. “But what they don’t tell you is when you throw them to the right people with the right matchup, they’re real high percentage.

When you throw it to Mike Williams, that’s the different statistical movie, and you can just see the value there.”

He was close to having two scores, but Williams had a bad drop in the end zone on a beautiful pass from quarterback Justin Herbert.

At the end of the day, Williams looks like an entirely different player in Lombardi’s system as the ‘X receiver.’ With his contract up at the end of the season, the former Clemson product could play his way into cashing in.

“I think he’s an incredible receiver,” Herbert said. “He’s one of those guys that goes up and 50/50 balls are more like 75/25. He showed up today and he’s a trustworthy guy.”

Chargers OT Rashawn Slater plays well beyond his years in debut

Chargers rookie OT Rashawn Slater exceeded even the highest expectations in his debut in the professional ranks. 

In need of quarterback Justin Herbert’s blindside protector, the Chargers selected offensive tackle Rashawn Slater with the No. 13 overall pick.

The selection of Slater was adored by many, included myself, who had him as the No. 2 tackle in this year’s draft class.

“While many believe he should get kicked inside at the next level, Slater is technically sound and has the athleticism and smarts to overcome any measurement concerns, projecting as a top-notch blindside blocker,” I wrote.

Leading into the draft, there were rumblings that Slater was going to have to play guard due to his height and length not being to NFL standards. This all came after he dominated elite competition at the position at Northwestern

Los Angeles did not think so.

The team knew they were going to have him protect the edge all along, and his regular season as a professional against Washington showed why Slater was destined to be an NFL offensive tackle.

Drawing two tough matchups in edge defenders Chase Young and Montez Sweat, Slater’s play resembled one similar to a veteran Pro Bowler returning for his fourth season in this league.

Slater handled everything thrown his way, showing great technique with his upper and lower half, functional strength and agility to keep rushers at bay, as well as the athleticism to take advantage of positioning and angles to get the job done in the run blocking department.

On the afternoon, Slater did not allow a single pressure to arguably the stiffest competition that he will face this season.

There was a lot of hype surrounding Slater coming out of college, and it’s safe to say that the former Wildcat exceeded even the highest expectations in his debut in the professional ranks.

Everything we know about Chargers’ victory over Washington in Week 1

Highlighting everything notable in the Los Angeles Chargers’ victory over the Washington Football Team.

In a neck-and-neck battle between the Chargers and Washington, Los Angeles came out victorious by the score of 20-16.

To recap the season opener, here is everything we know:

It was over when…

Washington decided to punt with a little less than seven minutes in the fourth-quarter. With the ball back in the hands of quarterback Justin Herbert, the offense put together a 15-play, 72-yard drive to eat up the remainder of the clock.

Keys of the game

The Chargers were 14-of-19 on third down.

Washington was held to 133 yards passing.

Los Angeles controlled the time of possession. 36:03 to 23:57.

4 stars of the game

QB Justin Herbert: 31-of-47 for 337 yards, 1 touchdown

WR Keenan Allen: 9 catches for 100 yards

WR Mike Williams: 8 receptions for 82 yards, 1 touchdown

S Derwin James: 7 tackles, 1 pass deflection

Quick hitters

Aside from the work in the red zone, Joe Lombardi called a terrific game by letting Herbert do his thing early and often. The blocking scheme and personnel allowed him to stay clean for the most part and receivers were put in optimal positions with a variety of route concepts/combinations.

Keenan Allen and Mike Williams have the makeup of a phenomenal wide receiver duo in this system.

The newly revamped offensive line did a fantastic job of holding their own against a tough Washington front. Rashawn Slater, in particular, swallowed up everything that came his way, including reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, Chase Young.

While the passing game was the focal point, the run game was not all that efficient, only averaging 3.1 yards per carry. Austin Ekeler was limited to 15 carries and was not used as a receiver. Larry Rountree had more carries than Justin Jackson, finishing with eight to one respectively.

The defense was stronger in the first half than in the second, but against the run was where they struggled throughout the entire game aside from a clutch fumble forced by Kyzir White. Washington finished with 27 carries for 127 yards (4.7 yards per carry).

Generating pressure in a multitude of ways is Brandon Staley’s calling card and it paid off, especially with Joey Bosa and Uchenna Nwosu. Aside from a big play to Terry McLaurin and their only touchdown, the Chargers held Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke to 133 passing yards.

The two best defensive players were Derwin James and Asante Samuel Jr. Both players consistently flew around the field, making big plays in big moments, both in the passing and run game.

Dropped passes and costly penalties in critical situations could have ultimately costed the Chargers this game. I don’t like to blame NFL officiating, but there were a couple of questionable calls, including the roughing the passer on Joey Bosa late in the game.

What’s next?

The Chargers return home to take on the Cowboys in the first regular season game at SoFi Stadium in front of fans on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 1:25 pm PT.

Live tweet updates from Chargers vs. Washington

If you’re away from a television and want to stay locked in to the matchup between the Chargers and Washington, we got you covered.

Regular season football is finally here!

The Chargers are set to take on the Washington Football Team in Week 1 of the 2021 regular season in just a few moments.

If you’re away from a television and want to be informed of the game, we got you covered below: