Chargers’ causes for concern vs. Texans in Week 4

A look at some causes for concern as the Los Angeles Chargers gear up to face the Houston Texans.

It’s been a rough week for the Chargers, who not only lost to the Jaguars at home for the first time in franchise history but did so in embarrassing fashion while losing two of their best players for an extended period.

They now travel to Houston to face the Texans, who beat them in the trap game of the decade last season after Los Angeles had a COVID outbreak the week of the game.

While that’s not likely to be a concern this time, there are a few reasons to be worried come Sunday.

The replacements

Without Rashawn Slater and Joey Bosa and potentially without Corey Linsley, JC Jackson, and Keenan Allen for another week, the Chargers are lacking a ton of star power on both sides of the ball coming into this one. Slater will be replaced by rookie Jamaree Salyer, who hasn’t played left tackle since the National Championship game for Georgia. Chris Rumph will fill in for Bosa, which he did in Jacksonville to mixed results. Salyer and Rumph getting starts is not ideal, and leaning on them to have a big impact could spell disaster.

Rookie defensive backs playing well

Derek Stingley Jr. and Jalen Pitre have gotten off to hot starts this season for Houston. Stingley has had his ups and downs, especially in zone, but you can see him learning and making adjustments practically play by play in every game. Pitre had two interceptions and a sack last week against Chicago in his big introduction to the NFL audience and has received plenty of praise from veterans in Houston for his play. With as much as Mike Williams has struggled to consistently find space to be thrown the football, the rookies could again have a big impact against LA. Expect Stingley to stick to Williams while Pitre roams around and covers Gerald Everett, who’s been a primary target in Joe Lombardi’s short passing game offense.

Constantly fresh rushers

Houston has four players who have at least 30 pass-rush snaps this season, per PFF. Of those, the lowest pass rush win rate is Jonathan Greenard at 12.3. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo is at 15.6, while Rasheem Green and Jerry Hughes are over 18 percent on the season. That puts all four of them in the top 70 in the league amongst players with at least 30 snaps, which means that Houston can keep everyone at their best. That’s especially important for the 34-year-old Hughes, whose reduced pass rush workload has resulted in a very efficient season thus far. Against a rookie making his first career start, the constant rotation may prevent Salyer from getting into a rhythm, potentially causing problems for Justin Herbert in the pocket.

Running game improvements

Houston hasn’t been great running the ball in 2022, but Dameon Pierce has shown signs of becoming a true No. 1 running back. He’s still splitting carries with Rex Burkhead, who beat up the Chargers to the tune of 149 yards last season. LA’s run defense has improved since then, of course, but Joey Bosa is a big part of that unit’s proficiency. With Rumph playing instead, we saw Jacksonville target the second-year player in the run game due to his lack of play strength. If Houston keys in on Rumph the same way, this could be Pierce’s national coming out party.

Good opportunity for Chargers to get going on ground vs. Texans

The Chargers will be going up against the NFL’s worst run defense.

The Chargers fell victim to getting gashed on the ground against the Texans a season ago, as they allowed 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries (5.3 YPC).

As Los Angeles is set to take on Houston this Sunday, this could be the perfect opportunity to get even. The Texans’ rush defense is the worst in the NFL, allowing more than 200 yards per game.

Easier said than done, however.

The Bolts are currently coming off an underwhelming performance in their loss to the Jaguars, where they had 26 rushing yards on a dozen carries (2.2 yards per attempt).

Through three games, the Chargers have 67 rushes for 177 yards and no rushing touchdowns. They are dead-last in the league with 59.0 rushing yards per game.

Austin Ekeler is averaging just 2.5 yards per carry. Sony Michel is averaging 2.9 yards per carry. Joshua Kelley leads the pack with 4.4 yards per carry, but he’s only rushed nine times. Rookie Isaiah Spiller has yet to make his regular season debut.

It’s easy to point fingers at the running backs for the lack of efficiency. While some of that is the case, a big factor is a combination of below-par run-blocking and lack of continuity up front.

Run game coordinator and offensive line coach from the 2021 season, Frank Smith, left to join the Dolphins to take over as their offensive coordinator. To replace Smith, Brendan Nugent was hired to oversee the offensive line alongside Shaun Sarrett.

Matt Feiler has been a disappointment up to this point. Corey Linsley has been out since the halfway point of the Week 2 loss to the Chiefs, so the team had to start Will Clapp. Rookie Zion Johnson and Trey Pipkins have slowly been building chemistry on the right side.

Further, fullback Zander Horvath is a rookie and still learning the details of the system. Tight ends Gerald Everett and Tre’ McKitty have been fine, but the Chargers’ best blocker at the position, Donald Parham, has yet to play this season as he nurses a hamstring issue.

“We have to get the ball running. We have to run the ball,” said Ekeler. “We got to get ourselves more efficient so [Offensive Coordinator] Joe [Lombardi] trusts us running the ball. It comes down to us getting it done.”

While Justin Herbert continues to work his way to total health from his rib injury, he will need a consistent rushing attack to take some of the load off his shoulders. This would be the game to do just that and start building momentum in that department.

5 key things to know about Chargers’ Week 4 opponent: Texans

To get you prepped for the Chargers’ Week 4 matchup with the Texans, here are five things to know about their opponent.

After losing the past two games, the Chargers will look to get back on track against the Texans this Sunday.

To get you prepped for the Week 4 bout, here are five key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the matchup.

Muddy production from Mills

After showing promise in his rookie campaign when taking over as the starting quarterback when he threw for 2,307 yards, 14 touchdowns, and five interceptions, Davis Mills has not carried that type of production into his sophomore season. Mills has thrown for 662 yards and three touchdowns to two interceptions. He is completing 57.9% of his passes, third-worst in the NFL among starting quarterbacks. Mills’ top target, Brandin Cooks, has 13 receptions and 158 yards on 29 targets.

Blowing it

The Texans have lost three games. In those contests, they came into the fourth quarter outscoring opponents, 49-29. It’s a promising stat, but Houston has not been able to hold on to each of its leads, as it has been outscored in fourth quarters, 30-0. Their late-game issues have been rooted from poor tackling and execution to bring down ball carriers.

Bringing the heat

The Texans have been getting after the quarterback this season, as they are tied for fourth-most sacks (10), five of which came last weekend against the Bears. They are led by defensive end Jerry Hughes, who is tied for the second-most sacks in the NFL (4).

Gashed on the ground

If there’s a game for the Chargers to get their underwhelming rushing attack going, it’s this one. In three contests, the Texans have given up a league-high 607 rushing yards. In their Week 3 loss to the Bears, Houston gave up 281 yards on the ground. On the other hand, Los Angeles is dead last in the league, averaging a measly 59 rushing YPG.

Fine first-year players

The Texans are fielding three rookies – cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., safety Jalen Pitre and running back Dameon Pierce. Stingley was picked on in his first two games, allowing 81 and 87 receiving yards, respectively. However, he delivered a strong performance last weekend against Chicago, not giving up a single catch and adding a sack. Pitre also had a solid outing in Week 3, amassing eight tackles, a pair of interceptions and a sac . He has allowed three receptions for 35 yards in 118 coverage snaps. As the No. 1 back, Pierce has 183 yards and a touchdown on 46 carries (4.0 yards per carry). Four of those rushes have gone for over 10 yards.