WEEK 3 RAMS 35 CHARGERS 23
The Rams-Chargers game was described as the "Battle for LA" in front of 68,947 combined fans of both teams. If this was a boxing match then the Chargers were fighting out of their weight class. There is no excuse for the outcome of this game. This was an old fashion butt whipping.
The Rams were the far superior team than the Chargers on Sunday. The Chargers were beat in every phase of the game. If you're going to lose an NFL game. It is good to make it an inter-conference loss. The schedule gets a lot more winnable moving forward from here next week. The Chargers have games against the 49ers, Browns, Raiders and Titans. They should be 5-2 or no worse than 4-3 heading into the bye week.
The Chargers defense was touted this offseason for their depth and talent. You remember those boys posing as a unit in the end zone after a good play last year? After playing the Rams Sunday, they should post that picture of themselves and post them at post offices around the country. Because they are MIA. If found, please contact Tom Telesco and Ken Whisenhunt.
The Chargers miss Joey Bosa badly. However, giving up 33 first downs and over 500 yards of offense might have been slowed down with Joey but it would not have prevented the ass whopping the Rams inflicted on this defense. Bosa doesn't play for the offensive line. The Chargers offensive line is falling apart on passing plays. Dan Feeney and Sam Tevi each gave up 5 or more pressures. Suh and Donald were constantly harassing Philip Rivers. Although the stat sheet will show only one sack given up.
The Bills seem to have exposed the Chargers defense in the 2nd half last week. The Rams used that and exploited them today. Melvin Ingram might as well resume his rapping career because without Joey Bosa on the other side. Ingram is reduced to being just another guy. Craig Hayward who received a contract extension after his stellar play last season. He should get a time machine go back and find that "IT" that he had last year. Joseph Addae is to slow and routinely misses tackles. No one on the defensive line recorded multiple pressures.Jared Goff was pressured 4 times in his 38 drop backs.
On the bright side Mike Williams had 4 catches in 6 targets for 81 yards. The failure of this coaching staff to get Austin Ekeler more touches is just as frustrating as the play of the offensive line and the defensive line.
Mike Pouncey was brought in to help the offensive line develop. He's done his part but Philip Rivers still is pressured constantly. .
The scary fact is the Chargers have only beaten two teams with a winning record since they left for LA in January of 2017. They continue to lose to good teams and get the wins against the lesser teams in the NFL.
Mistakes and mental errors still continue to haunt this team. Either the coaching staff is unable to prevent or simply don't know how? Derwin James gets an interception in the red zone but instead of kneeling in the end zone. He runs it out of the end zone and gets tackled at the 1-yard line.
The Chargers make a play then shot themselves in the foot over and over again. An example, Brandon Mebane gets a sack and a forced fumble on the Rams first drive. The Chargers get the ball and Keenan Allen drops a 1st down catch. The Chargers punted two plays later. In the same quarter, they scored on a Mike Williams touchdown. Then the Chargers missed the extra point right afterward. It's mind-boggling and frustrating how this continues.
The Rams receivers were given to much space at the line of scrimmage. They proceeded to run around the Chargers secondary wide open at will. The Rams 1st seven drives resulted in 5 touchdowns. There was no posing of the Chargers defense in the end zone today.
The defense has been torn apart by Patrick Mahomes in week one, Josh Allen in the 2nd half of week 2 and today by Jared Goff. The Rams didn't even punt until the 4th quarter today.
Looking at the stats of this game you'd have thought the Rams scored 100 points. The Rams total offense was over 500 yards with 354 yards through the air. The Rams had 3 receivers with over 50 yards receiving, the Rams punted the ball only two times today. However, the Chargers punter Drew Kaser did get hurt punting today.
The Rams got 33 first downs to the Chargers 16. That 33 is the most by any NFL team this year. No defense has given up more 1st downs through the first 3 weeks than today by the Chargers. With 3rd down conversions the Rams were 8-11 (72%) the Chargers 7/13 (53%). Finally, the time of possession, the Rams had 34:16 to the Chargers 25:44.
The good news is the Chargers really are a good football team. They're just not a great team that can overcome multiple mistakes and win. They're 1-2 in the standings but with winnable games, the next few weeks can change the negative feeling felt among the fan base right now. The Chargers just have to focus on the middleweight division. They have no business in the heavyweight division. At least not yet in week 3 they don't.
The most popular rebuttal among Charger fans is, "Wait till we get Bosa back" and "We just need to eliminate the mental errors and mistakes". This is true but Bosa isn't coming back anytime soon. The cast comes off this week. They then have to see how it's healing. If it needs surgery Bosa headed for IR. If it healed correctly then Bosa probably returns after the bye week November 4th against Seattle. Of course the same thing thing was said last year in regards to the mental errors all season last year. They never fixed the errors and wound up 9-7 missing the playoffs. Right now they're 1-2. Hope is not lost at all but confidence about this team moving forward is less than it was entering the season. In post game Coach Lynn said "We have to find a pass rush because Bosa isn't coming back anytime soon". Was that a statement or a warning?
Antonio Gates who didn't practice all week because of what was described as a "illness" revealed in the post game he was battling vertigo. Gates had 1 catch for 28 yards yesterday.
The play of Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler and Derwin James is encouraging going forward with these young prospects.
The Chargers have from this week on the NFL easiest schedule. SF, Cle, Tenn, Sea, Den, Ari, Pitt, Cinn, KC, Balt and Denver.
THE BAD
The coaching staff going for a field goal with 12 minutes remaining down by 2 scores made no sense by a coaching staff that at times look lost in games.
The play of the offensive and defensive line is has been poor and must improve if they want to be over .500 at the end of the season.
THE UGLY
The Chargers have beaten two teams with a winning record in their last 19 games.
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