The Los Angeles Chargers kicked off the season with a high-scoring shootout against the Miami Dolphins – and came out on the losing side by a score of 36-34. There was a lot to like on the offensive side of the ball, but the play of the defense was downright bad – to a level that is concerning in a number of aspects. It’s not like the Dolphins don’t have a strong offense, but if the Chargers defense continues to play this way, the team will be in trouble.
Los Angeles Chargers Defense Looks Lost in Week 1 Loss
The Stats
The Chargers secondary was absolutely ripped to shreds. Tua Tagovailoa went 28-of-45 for 466 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Tyreek Hill was the main beneficiary, bringing in 11 receptions for 215 yards and two touchdowns. The run defense fared better, allowing only 70 yards and 3.5 yards per carry, but it still added up to over 500 yards of offense. The result is quite likely the worst defensive performance of the Brandon Staley era.
It cannot be simply said that they were outmatched either. The last time these two teams met in Week 14 of 2022, they held the Dolphins to only 17 points and 219 yards. And that was with multiple Chargers defensive starters injured, and it wasn’t like Tagovailoa was injured at the time either. They shut down the Dolphins, and Staley called one of the better defensive games of his career. So what went so different this time?
Single Coverage, Little to No Adjustments, and J.C. Jackson
The main issue was how lost certain members of the secondary looked – most notably J.C. Jackson, who repeatedly got burned to the point where he got benched – again. (He did make one interception in the red zone, but that was one of the only good plays by anyone in the secondary.)
While plenty can be said about Jackson and his poor play, it didn’t help matters that Tyreek Hill was the one who kept burning him – and the Chargers never gave him or anyone else much help. Leaving Hill in single coverage without any help even from the safeties is usually going to backfire – and teams should know better by now. And despite the fact that they were getting burned early and often, hardly any adjustments were ever made, aside from benching Jackson. It didn’t help enough – in part because they seemingly never adjusted scheme-wise.
SHEESH 😮💨😮💨😮💨@tua x @cheetah pic.twitter.com/W4GEvmZ8tJ
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 10, 2023
On a semi-related note, the pass rush was oddly nonexistent. The Chargers did not get one sack, and the only two quarterback hits came courtesy of Sebastian Joseph-Day. If Tagovailoa had been under more duress, that might have helped take some pressure off the secondary.
Bad Look for Brandon Staley
This is not a good way for Brandon Staley and the Chargers defense to open the season. Let us keep in mind, this is supposed to be a defensive-minded coach – and yet, despite having all his starters healthy to open the season, despite having already shut down this same offense once, and despite going into this season on the hot seat, he and his defense put together one of the worst performances during his time as coach.
Even allowing for eventualities like J.C. Jackson being a free agency bust, it shouldn’t have gotten this out of hand. Tagovailoa is quite good, but what’s going to happen when they face more elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen if the defense does not get their act together? Scoring 34 points on offense and losing is not a good sign – and if that keeps up, this may well be the beginning of the end for Staley, as well as some of the personnel he hitched himself to.
Main Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
