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Here are some of the best pictures from the Chargers’ loss to the Saints.
The Chargers fell short in their second preseason game of 2023 to the Saints by the score of 22-17.
To relive some of the action, here are the top photos taken at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
Here are the top 10 Chargers offensive players and what their grades were the preseason loss to the Saints.
The Chargers lost to the Saints in the second preseason game of 2023 on Sunday, 22-17.
Despite the loss, they still had some key contributors on offense. Here are the top players on that side of the ball, per Pro Football Focus.
The Chargers’ defense reigned supreme on Day 1 of joint practices with the Saints.
The Chargers kicked off the first of two joint practices with the Saints on Thursday.
For Los Angeles, their defense reigned supreme during 11-on-11 drills.
It all started up front with the defensive line, headlined by edge defender Khalil Mack who met his former teammate, quarterback Derek Carr in the backfield early and often.
Mack’s constant pressure ended up leading to an erratic throw made by Carr, which was picked off by safety Derwin James.
“That’s what we expect,” Mack said. “We expect that day-in and day-out, whether it’s our offense or any other offense. We want to affect the quarterback.”
Mack’s partner-in-crime, Joey Bosa, was also very active, whether applying pressure or making positive plays in the run game.
Defensive tackles Sebastian Joseph-Day and Morgan Fox made their presences felt, both having tackles for loss. Fox also added a pair of sacks in the red zone drill.
Other standouts included EDGE Chris Rumph II, who had a tackle for a loss on Saints running back Jamaal Williams. Additionally, linebacker Kenneth Murray and safety JT Woods had solid days.
Overall, New Orleans only scored one touchdown in the entire practice, which was an RB Alvin Kamara run from four yards out on the final play of the red zone period, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.
“I thought that we were physical,” Staley said of the defense. “I thought that we played hard. The technique was good for the most part and the communications was good for the most part.”
Highlighting everything notable from the Chargers’ loss to the Saints in the preseason finale.
To cap off the preseason, the Chargers lost to the Saints, 27-10.
To recap Friday’s matchup, here are my takeaways:
Entering the preseason finale, Kelley was the front runner to be Austin Ekeler’s running mate. But the fourth-year player cemented his case Friday night. Decisive and explosive as a runner, Kelley finished with 40 yards on six carries, including a rush with an eye-popping hurdle over a defender. For a player who was being disregarded, Kelley proved any doubters wrong this summer, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do during regular season action.
After the ankle injury to Isaiah Spiller, which could cause him to miss the season opener against the Raiders, the Chargers will likely roll with four running backs. However, none of the other backs outside Kelley did anything to help themselves. Larry Rountree had six carries for 12 yards. Leddie Brown had three rushes for seven yards. Kevin Marks had just one carry that went for negative yards.
Easton Stick had his best performance in the preseason opener, appearing calm in the pocket and quick to get the ball out. However, his performance on Friday night was not reflective of that. Stick’s ball placement was all over the place, finishing 9-of-17 for 74 yards. Meanwhile, Daniel, who played the first half, had an excellent outing. He made some solid throws to each level of the field, including a nice deep pass to Jalen Guyton. Daniel finished 10-of-11 for 113 yards. While it may be more reasonable to keep two quarterbacks to save a roster spot elsewhere, Tom Telesco confirmed on the national broadcast last weekend against the Cowboys that the team will keep all three quarterbacks.
The Chargers keeping six wide receivers is slim to none, which is unfortunate for Bandy, who continued to do what he’s done all summer by running silky smooth routes to get open and hauling in everything thrown his direction. Bandy finished with three catches for 30 yards on five targets. If Bandy clears waivers, I expect Los Angeles to sign him to the practice squad. But the chances of that happening are slim with the tape he’s put out.
Whether or not the Chargers will carry four edge defenders, not including Kyle Van Noy, remains to be seen. But if they do, Kemp has made his case to earn that spot over Jamal Davis, who also had a solid summer. Kemp finished with four tackles, a quarterback hit, and an almost tackle-for-loss. Kemp and Davis both showed to be stout against the run, but Kemp offers a little bit more value as a pass rusher.
Since the beginning of the summer, Fehoko has done nothing but prove that he belongs on the 53-man roster. Flashing his run defense skills on a snap-to-snap basis, Fehoko has also developed as a pass rusher with a faster get-off and quicker hands to defeat blockers. On Friday night, Fehoko finished with a tackle for loss, a quarterback pressure, and continued to do the dirty work by eating up blocks and resetting the line of scrimmage.
Find out how to tune in to watch the Chargers take on the Saints in the final week of preseason play.
The Chargers wrap up the preseason against the Saints tonight.
Here’s everything you need to know so that way you can tune in.
Los Angeles Chargers vs. New Orleans Saints
Friday, Aug. 26 — 5:00 p.m. PT
Caesars Superdome — New Orleans, LA
The game will be televised on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and San Diego. Noah Eagle, Dan Fouts, LaDainian Tomlinson will have the call.
ALT FM-98.7 (English broadcast)
FM 105.5/94.3 (Spanish broadcast)
FuboTV (try it for free)
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Here are the perceived locks to make the Los Angeles Chargers’ 53-man roster.
The Chargers are close to finalizing their 53-man roster after weeks of evaluation based on 17 practices, two joint practices and three preseason games.
When looking at the 80-man roster heading into the preseason finale against the Saints, there are 40 players who should be considered locks to make the 53-man team next week.
Here are the players I view as being guaranteed a roster spot this year.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has been really good.
Prior to the draft, I banged the drum for rookie Justin Herbert because I knew that he was capable of being solid NFL quarterback.
However, I didn’t know that he would be this good, this early on in his professional career. No one did.
Herbert has taken the league by storm in his four appearances, averaging 299 passing yards per game and amassing 10 total touchdowns to only three interceptions.
The first-round pick has put the team on his back, keeping them in every single game, even against the most stiff competition like the Chiefs, Buccaneers and Saints.
Herbert has done all of this with the skills we saw in college, shredding defenses with his big arm and athleticism. However, he’s made major improvements in areas he was knocked for like his poise under pressure, diagnosing coverages and going through progressions.
NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah broke these down with plays against the Saints last Monday.
Check it out:
The sky is the limit for Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert.
It’s only been four games, but quarterback Justin Herbert has shown that he’s the answer at the position for the Chargers for many years to come.
Herbert’s play on Monday night was what kept the team Los Angeles alive in their 30-27 loss to the Saints, as he tossed four touchdowns – the most ever by a rookie on Monday Night Football.
Herbert did this while missing three starting offensive linemen and wide receiver Keenan Allen and running back Austin Ekeler.
“I thought the kid did some good things,” coach Anthony Lynn said on Herbert.
Herbert was pressured on 20 of his 38 dropbacks last night, per Pro Football Focus. However, he overcame being under duress.
While he still managed to make some great things happen in bad situations, Lynn noted the poor performance from the offensive line.
“My quarterback was running for his life,” Lynn said.
The 22-year old leads the NFL when pressured in adjusted completion rate and efficiency.
Three of Herbert’s touchdowns went to wide receiver Mike Williams and tight end Hunter Henry, with the other going to WR Keenan Allen.
After Allen left the game with a back injury, Herbert resorted to Williams, where the two connected five times for 109 yards, including a deep bomb for 64 yards.
“I just told him trust me. That’s the main thing I tell him every day. ‘Trust me, bro. It may not look sweet, just throw it up. I’ll go get it,'” Williams said.
Herbert also leaned on Henry, targeting him eight times. The 25-year old tight end, like the majority of the population, believes the future is bright for Herbert, and knows the team now has to back him up in order to help capture his first professional win.
“The kid is a stud. Great player. I just hate for him. He still hasn’t gotten his first win as a starter, but the kid is playing out of his mind. We all need to be better for him. Pick him up because he’s playing really, really good,” Henry said.
Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lays out the good, the bad and the ugly from the Los Angeles Chargers’ loss to the New Orleans Saints.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Chargers rookie Justin Herbert once again showed that he is capable of being one of the better quarterbacks in the league.
Rookie quarterback Justin Herbert did everything he could to give the Chargers a chance in their loss to the Saints on Monday night. But ultimately, it wasn’t enough.
Despite being under constant pressure all night long, Herbert kept battling, making a handful of dazzling throws, four of which led to touchdowns.
On the night, Herbert finished 20-of-34 for 264 yards and four scores. His four touchdown passes are the most thrown by a rookie on Monday Night Football in NFL history.
To relive the first-round pick’s phenomenal showing last night, here are his best plays:
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