Here are five numbers that sum up what took place in the Chargers’ loss to the Broncos.
The Chargers traveled to Denver to take on the Broncos on Sunday afternoon.
In what appeared to be out of grasp early on, Los Angeles managed to pull within before the half. But missed opportunities and lack of execution ultimately cost them the game.
With that being said, here are five numbers that tell the story of the Bolts’ 28-13 loss to the Broncos.
19
After Matt Feiler was ruled out with an ankle injury, the Chargers had just two Day 1 starters along the offensive line, Rashawn Slater and Corey Linsley. Filling in for Feiler was Senio Kelemete, who was the clear liability among the group. Kelemete allowed six pressures, followed by the other fill-ins, Michael Schofield and Storm Norton, who allowed five and three pressures, respectively. Slater gave up three, and Linsley surrendered one. In total, Justin Herbert was pressured a whopping 19 times. Herbert being under constant duress was one of the reasons for the lack of offensive efficiency.
8
I mentioned the lack of execution as to why the Chargers struggled to pull it together, and a good chunk of that lies on the defensive side of the ball where they couldn’t make stops in crucial situations. Los Angeles allowed Denver to convert 8-of-11 third downs. It resulted from not playing tight enough coverage, poor tackling, and bad luck, meaning Joey Bosa’s strip-sack on Drew Lock, which the ball bounced ahead to the first-down marker where Tim Patrick was there to pick it up.
147
After giving up an average of just 3.1 rushing yards per carry in the two weeks prior, the Chargers’ run defense took a significant step back, allowing the Broncos to scamper for 147 yards on the ground. One of the primary reasons for the poor play against the run was due to personnel. Rather than rolling with the team’s two best run defenders, Breiden Fehoko and Joe Gaziano, Jerry Tillery played most of the snaps out of any interior defender (89%). As for Fehoko and Gaziano, the two only played 24% and 11%, respectively.
2
After one of the most productive performances of the season, Herbert followed it up with a head-scratching outing. Some of the blame fell on the poor pass protection and dropped passes. Still, Herbert had opportunities yet struggled with his post-snap reads and made questionable decisions and throws. As a result, he threw two costly interceptions, both of which came in the fourth quarter. It was not Herbert’s best day at the office, and he needs to bounce back to keep the Chargers in playoff contention.
9
The Chargers committed nine penalties for 75 yards. Six of them came on the offensive side of the ball, with holding being the leading penalty. “We had far too many penalties today,” Brandon Staley said. “I think penalties really had a lot to do with our offensive flow and rhythm. That kind of, ‘Hey, we’re moving it then we got to come back, we’re moving it, now we got to go back.’ So, the penalties were a big factor today.”
