Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Chargers will be without Denzel Perryman on Saturday.
The Chargers are about 90 minutes away from kicking off Week 17 against the Patriots.
Here is a look at their inactive players today:
QB Easton Stick (emergency 3rd QB)
RB Gus Edwards
LB Denzel Perryman
OL Jordan McFadden
OL Trey Pipkins III
TE Hayden Hurst
DL Justin Eboigbe
RB J.K. Dobbins was activated from injured reserve on Saturday and will play today.
Here’s how the Chargers and Patriots stack up statistically on offense and defense ahead of Saturday’s matchup.
The Chargers and Patriots are set to square off this Saturday.
Here’s how Los Angeles and New England stack up statistically on both sides of the ball ahead of the Week 17 matchup:
| Category | Chargers | Patriots |
| Points per game | 21.9 ppg (18th) | 17.3 ppg (30th) |
| Passing offense | 200.8 ypg (28th) | 178.5 ypg (32nd) |
| Rushing offense | 106.5 ypg (23rd) | 119.7 ypg (14th) |
| Total offense | 307.3 ypg (24th) | 298.3 ypg (29th) |
| 3rd down conversions | 37.89% (18th) | 35.75% (26th) |
| Red zone scoring | 57.50% (14th) | 47.73% (31st) |
| Sacks allowed | 43 (21st) | 47 (26th) |
| Turnovers | 9 (2nd) | 21 (20th) |
| Category | Chargers | Patriots |
| Points allowed | 18.3 ppg (1st) | 24.1 ppg (24th) |
| Passing defense | 213.9 ypg (15th) | 212.4 ypg (12th) |
| Rushing defense | 124.1 ypg (17th) | 130.4 ypg (24th) |
| Total defense | 337.9 ypg (15th) | 342.8 ypg (21st) |
| 3rd down conversions | 37.07% (10th) | 42.08% (25th) |
| Red zone defense | 44.74% (1st) | 62.75% (24th) |
| Sacks | 42 (7th) | 28 (31st) |
| Takeaways | 19 (14th) | 12 (29th) |
The Chargers stood steady in the NFL Power Rankings after their win over the Broncos.
The Chargers improved to 9-6 after beating the Broncos last Thursday.
After Week 16, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:
“It took a 48-year stretch, but the Bolts have now converted the NFL’s last two successful fair catch kicks. Bummer that Bill Belichick, who enjoys an arcane football rule as much as anyone, won’t be on the sideline at Foxborough on Saturday when the Chargers visit.”
“First things first: The Chargers earned some serious nerd points from me with their fair-catch free kick. Like Jim Harbaugh, I find it to be my favorite play in football. Fair-catch free kicks come around about as often as Halley’s Comet, and they’re almost never successful, so that one from Cameron Dicker was a big yes from me, dawg. And when Justin Herbert carried his team on his back with a gutsy effort against the Broncos on Thursday — with the free-kick field goal giving them a boost heading into halftime — it reinvigorated me a bit when it comes to the Bolts, who have their flaws but remain plucky. I’m not quite convinced that the final 2.5 quarters of defense atone for everything we saw over multiple games prior to that point, but it was a much-needed start. If Los Angeles’ D can perform like that again at New England on Saturday, I’ll buy back even more shares. The Patriots don’t score a ton of points, but Drake Maye can stress the Chargers’ secondary if they’re not careful.”
Rookie of the year: Wide receiver Ladd McConkey
“Right tackle Joe Alt and cornerback Tarheeb Still have strong cases, but McConkey has been the Chargers’ most important offensive player not named Justin Herbert. McConkey and Herbert have already become one of the league’s best quarterback-receiver pairings. Out of 34 QB-receiver combos with at least 75 targets this season, the two rank in the top five of QBR, completion percentage and yards per attempt. McConkey leads the Chargers in receptions (69), targets (94) and yards (960).”
“The Chargers bounced back from the blowout loss to the Bucs with a nice division victory over the Broncos. One more victory and they are in the playoffs.”
“Roughly 11 compensatory draft picks for Jim Harbaugh to completely overhaul the front end of this roster.”
“Watching two of the NFL’s stingiest defenses allow 55 points was a little odd, but this was an impressive gut-check win the Chargers. The run game in Los Angeles remains a question mark (this week’s stats were skewed by one long Gus Edwards run), but the Chargers play excellent defense and have the sort of high-end quarterback in Justin Herbert who can make all the difference in the world in a playoff game. The Bolts are not a team folks want to have to face in the Wild Card round.”
If you missed the Chargers’ win over the Broncos or just want to relive it, here are the highlights.
The Chargers completed a double-digit comeback on Thursday night, defeating the Broncos, 34-27.
Justin Herbert threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns. Jesse Minter’s defense held Denver to six points in the second half after allowing three TDs in the first half.
If you missed the game or want to relive it, the entire highlight reel can be seen below.
Here’s our recap of the Chargers’ loss to the Broncos in a game that saw Los Angeles complete a double-digit comeback.
The Chargers pieced together a double-digit comeback in the second half, taking down the Broncos in a 34-27 battle on Thursday night.
Here’s our recap of Los Angeles’ Week 16 win.
Justin Herbert pitched the ball to Hassan Haskins, who ran for a 34-yard touchdown with 2:27 remaining to go up by 10.
The Chargers swept the Broncos for the first time since the 2010 season.
The Chargers are back on the road to face the Patriots (3-11) on Saturday, Dec. 28, at 10:00 am PT.
After their loss on Sunday, the Chargers took a little bit of a slide.
The Chargers fell to 8-6 after losing to the Buccaneers last Sunday.
After Week 15, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:
“After surrendering no more than 20 points in their first nine games, they’ve allowed at least 27 in three of the past five, including a forty-burger to the Bucs in Sunday’s loss.”
“Holding a 17-10 lead with just over five minutes left in the second quarter on Sunday, the Chargers fell on a Bucs fumble, and the game appeared to be tilting in their direction. From that point on, Tampa outscored L.A. 30-zip. The Bolts have had some unbelievably poor halves this season, but they absolutely crumbled after halftime in this one and were completely out of it midway through the fourth quarter. It was a hard fall for this team, which has now dropped three of the past four games and appears to be treading water — at best — even with a pretty darned good grasp on a playoff spot. A few weeks ago, the Chargers looked like the kind of first-round opponent no division winner wanted to face in the postseason. Now the defense has been humbled, and a flatlining Justin Herbert is dealing with a left ankle injury heading into a big game against Denver with seeding on the line.”
Biggest improvement: Play-action offense
“Before the Chargers’ Week 5 bye, they used play-action just 25.4% of the time. And it wasn’t particularly effective, either, as quarterback Justin Herbert had a QBR of 40.1 on those plays. Some of this likely had to do with his high ankle sprain from Week 2. Still, since Week 6, they’ve run play-action 34.4% of the time and Herbert has a 61.1 QBR. He also averages 12.1 yards per completion and 7.7 yards per attempt on these plays in that span, which is higher than the first four weeks of the season.”
“That was a horrible showing against the Bucs. They have lost two straight and now face a big Thursday game on the road against the Broncos.”
“I have been accused of being a silver linings guy and that’s a disposition I’m happy to have been saddled with. So I’ll say this after the Chargers were totally boat-raced by the Buccaneers: this isn’t indicative of some developing issue, it’s merely the point in which Los Angeles’s current level of talent and health has met the realities of their situation. I think we can all agree that this team has looked and felt different than the cardiac Chargers of the past, but Jim Harbaugh was saddled with one of the worst rosters—QB removed—in the NFL and is counting on a lot of young talent.”
“Sometimes, statistics don’t tell the whole story about a team. Los Angeles came into Week 15 with the No. 1-ranked scoring defense, slowing down mediocre and below-average offenses, some of which were led by rookies. Whenever Los Angeles plays a high-scoring opponent, its defense looks more porous than stout. The Buccaneers dropped 40 points on the Chargers at SoFi Stadium, and it should leave you questioning whether this club can hang with playoff-caliber teams.”
Here’s our recap of the Chargers’ loss to the Buccaneers, who overwhelmed Los Angeles in every facet of this game.
The Chargers stood no chance against the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay won, 40-17. Los Angeles is now 8-6.
Here’s our recap of L.A.’s Week 15 loss.
Baker Mayfield connected with Mike Evans for a 35-yard touchdown to go up 30-17. There was no answer to the Buccaneers’ offensive dominance.
Justin Herbert’s streak without an interception ended at 357 attempts. Herbert failed to become the first player in NFL history without an interception in 12 consecutive games within a single season.
The Chargers face the Broncos (9-5) in a crucial divisional matchup on Thursday night, Dec. 19, at 5:15 pm PT.
The Chargers defense is rolling.
The Chargers are starting to get on a roll.
LA’s second offensive drive netted the team a 41 yard Cameron Dicker field goal to tie the game at 10, followed immediately by a Tarheeb Still interception and a touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston to give the Chargers a 17-10 lead.
Tampa Bay got the ball back on the ensuing possession, pushing towards the first down marker early in the drive. Facing a 3rd and 1, the Buccaneers handed off to running back Rachaad White, who had limped off the field in the first quarter with an unspecified lower body injury.
White looked to have the first down, but kept fighting for extra yards. Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa got a hand on the ball, forcing it out as it bounced directly into the hands of Elijah Molden for Tampa Bay’s second turnover of the game.
The fumble gave the Chargers the ball back on their own 49 yard line.
https://x.com/chargers/status/1868421936176361946
Here’s how the Chargers and Buccaneers stack up statistically on offense and defense ahead of Sunday’s matchup.
The Chargers and Buccaneers are set to square off this Sunday.
Here’s how Los Angeles and Tampa Bay stack up statistically on both sides of the ball ahead of the Week 15 matchup:
| Category | Chargers | Buccaneers |
| Points per game | 21.3 ppg (20th) | 27.9 ppg (5th) |
| Passing offense | 198.1 ypg (25th) | 241.0 ypg (6th) |
| Rushing offense | 111.5 ypg (19th) | 138.3 ypg (7th) |
| Total offense | 309.5 ypg (24th) | 379.3 ypg (3rd) |
| 3rd down conversions | 38.37% (15th) | 47.17% (2nd) |
| Red zone scoring | 54.55% (19th) | 68.63% (4th) |
| Sacks allowed | 38 (23rd) | 32 (16th) |
| Turnovers | 6 (1st) | 18 (20th) |
| Category | Chargers | Buccaneers |
| Points allowed | 15.9 ppg (1st) | 23.8 ppg (22nd) |
| Passing defense | 206.1 ypg (8th) | 253.4 ypg (30th) |
| Rushing defense | 117.6 ypg (14th) | 115.2 ypg (11th) |
| Total defense | 323.7 ypg (11th) | 368.5 ypg (28th) |
| 3rd down conversions | 35.03% (7th) | 41.92% (23rd) |
| Red zone defense | 41.94% (1st) | 51.02% (10th) |
| Sacks | 39 (5th) | 35 (11th) |
| Takeaways | 17 (10th) | 16 (14th) |
Two players were out, and six were limited.
The Chargers had their second practice on Thursday in preparation for this Sunday’s contest against the Buccaneers.
Back on the practice field was quarterback Justin Herbert, who was listed as a limited participant on the injury report. Herbert missed Wednesday’s practice with a left ankle injury and a thigh contusion.
Herbert said his left ankle sprain is “not as severe” as the right high ankle sprain he had earlier this season.
Herbert is expected to play against Tampa Bay this weekend.
Edge defender Joey Bosa (hip) upgraded to limited after sitting out Wednesday.
Tight end Will Dissly (shoulder) and wide receiver Jalen Reagor (finger) did not practice for the second consecutive day.
Wide receiver Derius Davis (hamstring), safety Tony Jefferson (hamstring), wide receiver Ladd McConkey (knee/shoulder) and linebacker Deznel Perryman (groin) were limited.
