Quentin Johnston put together his best performance of the season with a 104-yard, one-score outing against the Cowboys in his home state of Texas. He caught Justin Herbert’s first touchdown of the game and later made two big catches to help keep the Chargers ahead of Dallas for the entire second half.
Herbert also had one of his best games of the season, completing 23-of-29 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns to go with one score on the ground.
Defensively, Tuli Tuipulotu notched his 13th sack
of the season, further increasing his single-season high mark. Oh, and we can’t forget safety Derwin James who absolutely balled out against the Cowboys.
With that said, let’s go ahead and check out the highest and lowest graded players on the Chargers from their win over the Cowboys.
Offense
Best (min. 20 snaps)
WR Quentin Johnston – 90.5
QB Justin Herbert – 88.1
RB Omarion Hampton – 84.9
WR Keenan Allen – 84.1
TE Will Dissly – 76.0
Johnston was the catalyst for the Chargers’ offensive explosion against the Cowboys on Sunday as he hauled in four passes for 104 yards and a one-handed touchdown. Herbert targeted Johnston early and then found him again on a critical third-down conversion in the second half that helped seal the win.
Hampton ran hard following the injury to Kimani Vidal and finished with 95 total yards of offense with a rushing score (his third of the year). Allen caught a team-high five passes and had multiple catches that moved the chains.
The seldomly-used Dissly had multiple receptions and finished with 28 yards, the most for him in a game this season.
Worst
OG Zion Johnson – 37.1
OG Mekhi Becton – 41.3
TE Oronde Gadsden II – 43.0
OT Austin Deculus – 53.5
RB Kimani Vidal – 55.4
Johnson allowed a team-high three pressures, two of which ended up in hits on Herbert. His 24.7 pass block grade was the worst on the team among all offensive linemen. Becton allowed two pressures (one hit) and had the team’s worst run block grade at 39.5.
Gadsden underwhelmed with a 39.3 in run blocking. He caught just one pass for seven yards.
Defense
Best
S Derwin James – 92.0
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu – 82.2
CB Benjamin St-Juste – 76.9
S Marcus Williams – 73.1
CB Tarheeb Still – 67.5
James was elite in coverage against the Cowboys as he finished with a 91.1 in that area. He also had the team’s best pass rush grade (75.1), the second-best run defense grade (71.0), and the third-best tackling grade (79.1).
Tuipulotu led the Chargers with five pressures and recorded his 13th sack of the season.
St-Juste’s 77.0 was tops for cornerbacks and he paired with strong marks in tackling (78.9) and run defense (65.0).
Worst
S Elijah Molden – 29.9
CB Cam Hart – 47.7
DT Teair Tart – 51.0
LB Daiyan Henley – 51.9
DT Da’Shawn Hand – 57.4
Molden had a rough outing against Dallas as he finished a team-low 33.2 in coverage. His 33.9 in tackling was also very low and that unfortunately sunk his grade.
Hart was toasted early by Cowboys receiver George Pickens as he allowed two receptions on three targets for 66 yards and a touchdown. Henley also did not have a great day in coverage as he had all five targets his way to be completed for 62 yards.
Hand had a team-low 49.9 pass rush grade but otherwise was solid. His grades in both run defense and tackling ended above 60.0.
