The Chargers offense is the single most-inefficient group in the entire NFL. They’re 32nd in EPA/play and Sunday loss to the Chiefs was a new low point as they failed to reach the end zone for the first time this season.
They scored six points all game, none of which came following any of the Chiefs’ three turnovers. Those three takeaways turned into a pair of punts and a turnover of their own. The Chargers even had the ball at the one-yard line with four downs to score and they still kicked a field
goal!
Each week this group looks even more helpless than the last and now that they’ve hit their bye week, changes can expected.
In what could have been the final game called by Mike McDaniel in LA, here’s how things were graded out for the Chargers.
Offense
Best
WR Ladd McConkey – 70.3
OT Travis Burke – 68.7
C Jake Slaughter – 64.9
WR Derius Davis – 61.3
QB Justin Herbert – 60.5
McConkey returned from miss the last two games to play just eight snaps before exiting with yet another injury, this one to his head. His one catch for 17 yards was almost good enough to lead the team in receiving before Quentin Johnston’s 57-yard reception.
Burke continues to be the Chargers’ best healthy offensive lineman. He was steady across the board with a 65.5 in pass blocking and a 68.0 in run blocking.
Slaughter had a pair of penalties, including a back-breaking holding call at the one-yard line. He still finished with a pass block grade of 75.6 (first among OL) and a run block grade of 67.7.
Worst
OG Logan Taylor – 40.5
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith – 46.7
WR Quentin Johnston – 47.6
RB Keaton Mitchell – 49.3
TE Oronde Gadden II – 49.4
Another rough game for Taylor who is playing out of position at guard. His 47.0 pass block grade was second worst to Alex Harkey while his 37.9 in run blocking was worst among OL.
Lambert-Smith had a pair of penalties and lost a fumble on a catch that otherwise would have gone for a first down.
Johnston had another drop but ultimately was the recipient of the Chargers’ longest play of the season with a 57-yard grab. Funny enough, it looked like he caught it on accident as it lodged between his arm and shoulder pad as he fell to the ground.
Defense
Best
CB Cam Hart – 89.1
LB Marlowe Wax – 81.5
LB Troy Dye – 76.3
S Tony Jefferson – 73.4
CB Isas Waxter – 72.1
Hart picked off Patrick Mahomes in the end zone for his second interception of the season. He ended with an elite 91.1 coverage grade after allowing one reception for four yards.
Wax and Dye combined to play just 15 snaps together but they were both solid with grades above 70.0 in both run defense and tackling.
Jefferson had the second-best tackling grade (81.9), the third-best run defense grade (69.3), and the fourth-best coverage grade (69.0).
Worst
S Genesis Smith – 29.2
LB Del’Shawn Phillips – 29.5
CB Deane Leonard – 33.1
DT Teair Tart – 37.0
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu – 43.0
Smith continues to have a very up-and-down rookie season. His 95.0 game grade in Week Three is still an enormous outlier compared to his three games with a grade of 35.5 or lower, including two below 30.0. However, he remains a very consistent tackler, posting a 75.2 or higher in that area through the first five games of the season. He only allowed one reception for 12 yards against the Chiefs, but that completion went to Travis Kelce for a first down on third-and-11.
Phillips recorded a team-low 29.8 coverage grade after allowing all three targets his way to be completed for 62, almost half of which came after the catch (28). His 26.9 tackling grade was also the worst on the team.
Leonard allowed two completions on two targets for 32 yards and was called for a DPI (that honestly should not have been flagged).
Tart recorded the team’s lowest run defense grade at 34.0.
Tuli finished with a 45.0 run defense grade (second worst) and a 42.7 in coverage (fourth worst). His pass rush grade of 59.3 was fourth best on the team, but not enough to make up for the low marks elsewhere.
