Studs and duds from Chargers’ Week 3 loss to Jaguars
The Chargers suffered one of the more frustrating losses in recent memory, allowing the Jaguars to beat them in California for the first time in franchise history and end a road win drought that extends to before the pandemic.
Jacksonville dominated Los Angeles from start to finish, and while I’m of the opinion that the Jaguars are a legitimately good football team, there’s still plenty to criticize on LA’s side.
Here’s who earned the brunt of that criticism, along with the bright spots:
Stud: Justin Herbert
Given the circumstances, I probably would’ve named Herbert a stud simply for making it through the entire game. While the stat line was uglier than normal – 22/39 for 278 yards, one touchdown, and one interception – Herbert still made some of the extraterrestrial plays we’re used to seeing from him when fully healthy. His strike to Jalen Guyton for a gain of 54 yards was one of the best throws we’ve seen from him. Especially after Rashawn Slater went down at left tackle, Herbert was consistently forced to escape the pocket to make plays and did so. If this is what we get from Herbert while he recovers from the rib injury, the Chargers should at least have a chance going forward.
Dud: Chris Rumph II
After Joey Bosa went down with a groin injury, it seemed like this was the time for Rumph to show that his preseason was no fluke. And yet, while Rumph did show some flashes here and there, today’s game was marked more by the sight of #94 on the ground and gashing runs to his side of the field. It seems like the second-year edge rusher may still not have the power and mass to be an every-down player in the NFL, and to be fair to him, he wasn’t expected to be. But if he’s the next guy up with Bosa out, he needs to be a significantly better run defender at the very least.
Stud: Derwin James
James has, unsurprisingly, been one of the Chargers’ best and most consistent players through three weeks. After powerbombing Travis Kelce last Thursday, James continued his reign of terror against Jacksonville. Every tackle the All-Pro made looked like his opponent had run into a concrete wall, not to mention James making life difficult for Trevor Lawrence as a blitzer. James also performed well in coverage, as he was the one that had the most success on Jaguars primary receiver Christian Kirk.
Dud: Mike Williams
Bottom line: the Chargers need more out of Williams than 1 catch for 15 yards, even if that catch was a beautiful toe-tap in the end zone. With Keenan Allen out of this game, it’s reasonable to assume that Williams drew more bracket coverage and double teams than he would normally. But Los Angeles isn’t paying him $20 million a season to not be able to get open in those situations. When Williams is on, he’s an absolute menace as a jump ball threat. But when he’s off, LA struggles to move the ball. Today was the latter.
Stud: Asante Samuel Jr.
Samuel’s performance today has me questioning what the coaching staff thinks they’re accomplishing by yo-yoing players on the depth chart. There’s really no reason why Michael Davis should have ever been taking game reps from Samuel as the presumed CB2 this preseason, and Samuel has proven that by coming out with his hair on absolute fire to start the season. The second-year corner is still giving up receptions, and that’s fine. But you can see his instincts developing to a near-otherworldly level in real time – go check out his PBU in the red zone early in the game. Once JC Jackson returns, this should be a top pass defense in the NFL.
Dud: Run game
Jacksonville bullied Los Angeles at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, opening lanes for James Robinson and company to rush for 151 yards on 36 carries while holding the Chargers to 26 yards on 12 attempts. We talked about the effect replacing Joey Bosa with Chris Rumph had on the run defense, but that’s really only part of the equation. LA also came out in dime package on the 4th-and-1 play where James Robinson ran for a 50-yard touchdown, a clear personnel mistake with Jacksonville in 13 personnel. On offense, the Chargers again abandoned the running game early, with Austin Ekeler finishing with four carries for five yards. Joshua Kelley was nowhere to be seen until garbage time after looking better than Sony Michel in the first two weeks. This team needs Isaiah Spiller to be the guy he was advertised as, and they need it quickly.
Stud: Khalil Mack
Mack was pretty routinely getting pressure before Bosa exited, and even after that, he managed to be fairly productive despite Jacksonville sliding their protections over to focus solely on him. He’s looked like the player the Chargers were hoping for when they traded a second-round pick for him this offseason, and it’s a positive sign that he was still able to get pressure without Bosa on the field. Also, just as an aside, it speaks to the quality of the team performance when Herbert, James, and Mack are all studs in this one and the team loses by 28 points.
Dud: Injury luck
This is classic Chargers football, really. You have one of the most talented rosters in the league on paper. You lose Keenan Allen and JC Jackson early. Hurtful, but not the end of the world. Corey Linsley and Justin Herbert suffer lingering injuries in Week 2 – a much rougher proposition. Then, in Week 3, you lose Joey Bosa (groin), Rashawn Slater (biceps), and Kenneth Murray Jr. (unclear). That’s six of the Chargers’ best eight or ten players, plus Murray, who’s looked improved in the first two weeks of the season. It’s an insanely unlucky run for a team that strongly emphasizes avoiding injury throughout Brandon Staley’s tenure. The depth has looked awful as well – we talked about Rumph earlier, Storm Norton had two holding penalties in a quarter and a half, and the wide receivers have struggled to get open. It’s so brutally early wishing for the bye week, but that seems to be the point we’re reaching.
