The Los Angeles Chargers picked up their second straight win by taking down the New York Jets in Week 9 on Monday Night Football by a final score of 27-6. This win brought them back to .500 with a 4-4 record. This and last week’s win against the Chicago Bears were against easier opponents, but they should not be taken for granted. At any rate, this game was unusual for the Chargers – because, against the typical team script this year, instead of the offense leading the way and/or outright bailing out the rest of the team, it was nearly the opposite this time.
Defense Leads the Way in Chargers Week 9 Win
Jets Defense Is No Joke
Against the tough Jets defense, the Chargers struggled to get much of anything going for most of the night. Justin Herbert was sacked five times and finished 16-for-30 with just 136 yards and no touchdowns. That is easily the lowest passing yardage of his career. Granted, he is now without both Mike Williams and Josh Palmer, but it’s still a testament to how formidable of a defense the Chargers were facing.
The run attack fared a little better, but not by much. Austin Ekeler had one excellent 20-yard scamper along the sideline to the one-yard line; he took it in for the touchdown shortly after. Take that 20-yard play away, though, and the stats aren’t so pretty. Ekeler finished with 47 yards and two touchdowns on the night; the second one came after a fumble recovery that helped the Chargers start a drive at the one-yard line. Notably, Joshua Kelley had 18 yards on just three carries, so maybe it would’ve gone a little better if they had utilized him more.
Still, only one touchdown out of three could be fully attributed to the offense. A second one was a special teams touchdown (more on that later) and the third was basically a freebie courtesy of the defense. It is little exaggeration to say that the Jets would be AFC title contenders if they even had average quarterback play.
Chargers Defense Flips the Script
Considering how poorly the Chargers defense has been doing this year (particularly in the secondary), it feels astonishing to say that they were the reason for the win. Granted, Zach Wilson is possibly the worst starting quarterback in the league right now. But regardless, the Chargers kept the Jets out of the end zone all night, even in garbage time.
The defensive line finished with eight sacks. 6.5 of them came from Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Tuli Tuipulotu. One of Brandon Staley’s better ideas on defense this year has been running a triple-edge-rusher set on occasion, and it’s been quite effective. Bosa looks like himself again after being bogged down by injury up until recently.
In general, the defense was aggressive and hard-hitting in this game. Multiple times incomplete passes were forced by a crushing blow – or a play was shut down from going anywhere. And they were avoiding penalties too. Such efforts were rewarded with four forced fumbles and three recoveries. It wasn’t perfect – a few big plays were still given up – but the Chargers defense mostly took care of business.
Special Teams Play Their Role Too
The first touchdown of the game actually came from rookie Derius Davis, the return man. He has been doing well in this capacity, and when he’s had a chance in open field, he’s made the most of it. The result was an 87-yard punt return touchdown barely two minutes into the game. On offense, he has mostly been limited to sweep plays and maybe a screen pass or two. But it would be interesting to see him involved more in the offense, because he is quite capable when the football is in his hands.
Elsewhere on special teams, kicker Cameron Dicker nailed a 55-yard field goal to close the first half – which tied a career-high. He has been quite reliable so far this year – he has only missed one field goal and is perfect on extra points. It seemed pretty clear last year, but the Chargers definitely have a long-term answer at kicker now.
In Conclusion
Herbert and the Chargers offense were mostly stymied on Monday night – but for once, it didn’t matter. They were strong enough in the other facets of the game to not require Herbert to carry them. It’s a seemingly rare sight, and it certainly wasn’t a pretty game for either team from an offensive standpoint. But the Chargers will take the wins any way they can get them. Next up they have the Detroit Lions, and that will be a tougher opponent. We will see if the Chargers can keep the momentum going.
Main Photo: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
