EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — If the Los Angeles Chargers arrived in Jacksonville looking forward to a badly needed week off, they left staring at a long two weeks waiting until they play again and exorcise
the embarrassment of a 35-6 rout by the Jaguars on Sunday.
“We got beat every which way you could possibly be beat,” coach Jim Harbaugh said after the biggest defeat in his two seasons with the Chargers (7-4), supplanting a 23-point loss to Tampa Bay last December.
The atrociousness of the performance was so comprehensive, even Harbaugh didn’t know where to start in his postgame assessment.
“We just weren’t doing anything well offensively,” Harbaugh said. “We weren’t running the ball well. We weren’t protecting. We weren’t getting open. Defensively, same. We weren’t stopping the run. We were loose in coverage. I mean, go through every phase, and we got beat every which way you could get beat.”
The Chargers figured, win or lose, that the upcoming bye week would give them a chance to reset and prepare for the stretch run. Instead, the nature of the loss raises numerous questions that a few days away from the grind of football won’t fix.
The most obvious is what to do about the offensive line, where the introduction of recently acquired left tackle Trevor Penning into the lineup and the benching of right guard Mekhi Becton during the game couldn’t fix a front five which gave up three sacks, five tackles for loss and six quarterback hits.
The most alarming is whether the typically stout defense under coordinator Jesse Minter has finally reached a tipping point given the lack of consistent support from the other side of the ball.
Harbaugh said the coaching staff and front office would spend the next week figuring out how to address those issues and many others that the Jaguars raised.
Quarterback Justin Herbert said players will focus on getting right physically, all the more important considering how many injuries Los Angeles has dealt with at key spots and the cascading effect on the rest of the roster.
No matter the assignment, everyone associated with the Chargers will be feeling the sting from Sunday until they are back on the field.
“When you lose a game like that, you want to go back out there, and you want to get that taste out of your mouth,” Herbert said. “I think it’s tough because now we have to wait a week — two weeks to go back and play, but I think it will be good. I think a lot of guys will get their bodies back this week, and the rest will be good for us, but it wasn’t good enough today for us at all.”
The return of Josh Harris from a chest injury sustained in the preseason finale in August has helped stabilize a special teams unit that had looked shaky before the veteran long snapper got back into action against Pittsburgh last week. The Chargers didn’t do much right Sunday but were able to keep Jaguars ace return specialist Parker Washington under wraps.
The run game struggled before RB Kimani Vidal sustained a thigh injury in the first half, finishing the game with 42 yards on 16 carries. Herbert had half of that total from his three rush attempts.
CB Donte Jackson had an interception for the second straight week, following up his pick-6 against the Steelers by undercutting Tim Patrick’s route in the second quarter to come away with the Chargers’ lone takeaway.
Herbert had perhaps his worst regular-season performance since Harbaugh took charge in January 2024, going 10 of 18 for 81 yards and an interception. It wasn’t all his fault, but behind a severely diminished offensive line, Herbert has to be better than that for the Chargers to have any chance of winning.
Rookie RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) might be able to return from injured reserve following the open week, which would give the offense a big infusion as both a runner and catching passes out of the backfield.
35 — The Chargers had 35 yards of offense in the second half, generating just 2.06 yards per play on their 17 snaps after the break.
After a much-needed break, the Chargers host the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 30. Provided they take care of business against their AFC West rivals, the subsequent two-game stretch versus Philadelphia and Kansas City will decide if Los Angeles has any meaningful chance to win the division.
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