The Chargers defense barely put up a fight against the Colts as Indy scored a touchdown on each of their first three drives of the game. They slowed down a bit as the game went on but 38 points is no joke.
Unsurprisingly, the Bolts defense had zero players grade above 70.0.
Offensively they had some standouts (shoutout Oronde Gadsden II!) but it simply wasn’t enough against the runaway Colts train led by running back Jonathan Taylor.
So is there anything really worth seeing? Yes, but only if you want to know just how bad the Bolts on defense.
Let’s go ahead and check these grades out.
Offense
Best (min. 20 snaps)
TE Oronde Gadsden II – 85.4
QB Justin Herbert – 81.6
WR Keenan Allen – 79.1
C Bradley Bozeman – 69.7
OT Bobby Hart – 68.1
The rookie tight end popped off in a historic way. His 164 receiving yards were the most by a rookie at the position since 2000 and he became the first Chargers tight end to go over 100 yards since Hunter Henry in 2019.
Herbert bounced back from two early interceptions to throw for 420 yards and three touchdowns while also leading the team with 31 rushing yards.
Allen also posted 119 yards on 11 catches with a touchdown. It was vintage Slayer.
Bozeman allowed a sack and multiple pressures but somehow graded favorably at the top offensive lineman. Hart played a much cleaner game this week, as well.
Worst
OT Austin Deculus – 46.7
OG Mekhi Becton – 47.9
WR Quentin Johnston – 48.3
RB Hassan Haskins – 57.5
OG Zion Johnson – 58.3
Deculus and Becton each allowed seven pressures against the Colts. Both were the most in a game by either player this season. Becton’s 34.1 in pass blocking was worst among the starting five.
Johnston’s grade was tanked by a 35.1 run block grade which was second worst on the team.
Defense
Best
CB Cam hart – 69.5
S R.J. Mickens – 69.3
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu.- 66.3
DT Jamaree Caldwell – 65.3
CB Donte Jackson – 64.2
It was a terrible defense as a whole so no one player found themselves graded above a 70.0
Hart was fairly solid with top five grades in tackling, run defense, and coverage. Mickens was the team’s best tackler (78.9) and third-best in coverage (66.6).
Tuipulotu led the pass rush with seven pressures with six hurries and one quarterback hit. Caldwell’s 71.3 in run defense was also tops on the team.
Worst
LB Daiyan Henley – 35.0
LB Denzel Perryman – 40.1
DT Justin Eboigbe – 42.5
S Tony Jefferson – 44.6
S Derwin James – 46.3
This was another rough outing for Henley who posted his second-worst overall game grade of his young career. His 32.3 coverage grade was in the basement this week as he allowed all three targets thrown his way to be completed for 55 yards. He was consistently biting hard on play action and it caused him to be out of position time and time again.
The same can be said for Perryman. He was behind in coverage and kept taking himself out of run plays by shooting through the wrong gaps.
Eboigbe’s run defense grade of 38.2 was the worst among defensive linemen. He showed no fight at the point of attack and was consistently washed out of running lanes.
James’ 38.3 in run defense was the next worst mark on the defense. He took bad angles and never quite grasped how to use his pursuit angles while coming downhill from the deep safety spot.
