The Los Angeles Chargers suffered a 31-17 defeat in Week 7 to the Kansas City Chiefs, dropping them to 2-4. This was the first time that a Justin Herbert vs Patrick Mahomes matchup ended in a multi-score deficit – and also the first game of the Chargers season that was decided by more than seven points – and it showed. This is among the most disheartening regular-season losses of the Brandon Staley era – because it constituted a failure and/or breakdown of the team philosophy on both sides of the ball. Quite simply, this team looks lost right now, and barring a big turnaround, the team is in a downward spiral. Let’s take a look at what all went wrong in this loss.
Chargers Suffer Worst Defeat of Season Thus Far in Week 7 Loss
Defensive Scheme Failure
Let’s preface this section by reminding everyone that this is the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs with the reigning MVP in Mahomes, and they are still mostly playing like it. Expecting a complete shutdown is unrealistic – you have to hope for Mahomes to have some uncharacteristic mistakes, as has happened a couple of times this year (the Jets primetime game in particular). But you would still expect some degree of fight and keeping it close – you shouldn’t be making it downright easy for them.
But that is what happened here. Mahomes shredded the defense, particularly in the first half. Most of that damage came from Travis Kelce, who the defense had no answer for and kept allowing to get open. On the rare occasion where he was locked up, Mahomes found someone else instead, as there simply was little resistance from the secondary. Mahomes finished 32-for-42 for 424 yards and four touchdowns with one interception (one of the only positive plays for the secondary on the day, courtesy of Asante Samuel Jr). Kelce finished with 12 receptions for 179 yards and a touchdown. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, of all people, was allowed to score a long touchdown.
Ladies & Gents, I present to you: Justin Herbert’s defense. Brandon Staley is a privilege.
(They converted, obviously). pic.twitter.com/dX9Wr638lH
— Ryan DePaul (@RyanDePaul) October 22, 2023
I will leave this section with the above image, which says enough. Brandon Staley is trying to take away big plays, but as a result of over-focusing on that, the intermediate passing game is wide open. Tony Romo referenced it often – this zone defense Staley is running is too soft, and it does not work.
Offensive Inconsistency
This side of the ball fared better – in that they did look good for a portion of the game, whereas aside from the defensive line, virtually nothing about the Chargers defense looked good. The Chargers offense was hot during the first half and early in the third quarter. But it went downhill from there.
Part of the problem was actually offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. In the last two games, we’ve seen the offense start out aggressive – and then take the gas pedal off later. Sound familiar? It’s a pattern the Chargers seem to be incapable of avoiding, no matter who is calling the plays on offense. It’s especially egregious, however, when you’re playing the Chiefs and don’t even have the lead. We actually saw a drive in the third quarter with three straight runs on one set of downs. And it failed. That should not be the scheme when Herbert is your quarterback. Ultimately, the offense was shut out in the second half – and it was mostly because the play-calling got too passive and Moore did not adjust until it was too late.
Herbert Struggling?
While it is easy to point the finger at Staley for the defensive failures – and even Moore for taking his foot off the gas pedal when he didn’t even have the lead – something else that can’t be overlooked is that in this game and the previous one, Herbert has looked unusually off at times. He is still making plenty of great throws, but he is also having more misses than usual on what should be easy throws. There was one point where he had Keenan Allen wide open in the end zone – and overthrew him. He had two interceptions against the Chiefs, and while the first one was bad luck off a deflection, the second one at the end of the game was uncharacteristically bad.
The question becomes: what is wrong? There are a couple of factors to keep in mind. One is that injured finger on his non-throwing hand – which, if it’s hurting enough, could be affecting things a little. There is also the fact that star center Corey Linsley is out indefinitely – maybe even for good – due to a heart issue. As a result, Herbert has been under more pressure lately, as Will Clapp has been inadequate as the new starter – and the line seems to be missing a stabilizing factor without Linsley there.
Between playing through pain and being under more pressure, this could explain much of why Herbert has not seemed entirely himself. He’s dealt with o-line problems before and still done fine, so perhaps once the finger is fully healed – or healed enough that the pain doesn’t bother him much anymore – we will start to consistently see more of the Herbert we’re used to.
In Conclusion
After a game like this, Brandon Staley’s seat is going to be heating up again. He got a bit of a reprieve after two wins against coaches that are just as bad or worse. Some had wondered if Moore could end up getting promoted to the HC spot, but this game – and probably the previous one too – has not done him any favors.
Ultimately, both sides of the ball failed in this game, and it does seem clear now that the Chargers are unlikely to make the playoffs (if it wasn’t clear before). The best hope they have at this point is for Herbert to carry them, but even he can only do so much when both his coaching staff and aspects of the roster are failing him.
Main Photo: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
