The Chargers lost to the Saints in overtime on Monday Night Football in typical fashion, leading by 17 points and letting it slip away. Los Angeles will have plenty of reflecting heading into their bye week.
But before that, here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from Week 5:
The Good
QB Justin Herbert: What more could you ask for from Herbert? The rookie went toe to toe with future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees, finishing 20-of-34 passing for 264 yards and four touchdowns, which marks the most in MNF history. Herbert did this all while being in the face of pressure all night, and missing some of his top skill players (Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler). The future is bright.
WR Mike Williams: We knew it was a matter of time until Herbert started taking more deep shots to Williams. After Allen went down, Williams became Herbert’s go-to target. He turned eight targets into five catches for 109 yards and two scores, including an outstanding grab in the fourth quarter that put the Chargers in position for the go-ahead field goal (which was missed).
Run defense: Before the game, I said that the Chargers must find a way to minimize Saints running back Alvin Kamara’s effect on the game. While Kamara made some splash days through the air, him and RB Latavius Murray struggled to get anything going on the ground, failing to go over 100 yards. Credit goes to defensive tackle Linval Joseph, edge defender Uchenna Nwosu, linebackers Kenneth Murray, Kyzir White and safety Rayshawn Jenkins, all of whom played vital roles in the run game.
The Bad
Offensive line: The offensive line had no answer for the Saints pass rush. Herbert was sacked three times and was pressured 14 times (37.8% pressure rate, the defense’s highest in a game this season), per Next Gen Stats. The offense managed managed to go over 100 yards on the ground, but the guys up front failed to get push more often than not.
Conservative play-calling in the second half: Roll with what’s working. The Chargers failed to do so out of the locker room when they had the lead. They took the conservative route rather than being aggressive on early downs by choosing to run the ball on nine of their 14 first-down plays in the second half and overtime. The result? They averaged only 1.11 yards per carry on their first-down rush attempts. While it speaks to the lack of trust they had in the offensive line in pass protection, Herbert showed that he was capable of overcoming the copious amount of pressure.
Punt coverage: Special teams isn’t talked about often, but the Chargers have the worst special teams rating in the NFL, per Football Outsiders. Ty Long was close to having a few of his punts blocked, which speaks to the poor punt protection. Meanwhile, the Saints were set up in ideal field position all night (barring a couple called back due to penalties) due to the lackluster coverage.
The Ugly
Second-half defense: There were some positives on the defensive side of the ball, including the run defense, which was mentioned above. Along with that, free safety Nasir Adderley picked up his first career interception. But other than that, the unit fell apart when they had a commanding lead. Soft/busted coverages and lack of pressure led to quarterback Drew Brees’ comeback after being down 17 points. The unit is banged up, and the bye week couldn’t have come at a better time to get healthy.
Michael Badgley: The Chargers could’ve sworn that the kicking nightmares were behind them. But last night was a flashback to a couple of seasons ago when they had their kicker carousel. Badgley missed an extra point on the team’s first touchdown and the go-ahead 50-yard field goal, leaving four points on the field, which would’ve enough to give them the victory. Last week, Badgley missed a field goal, too. His seat is getting warm.