The Los Angeles Chargers escaped with a win on Sunday over the San Francisco 49ers 29-27 and raised their record to 2-2. Given that the 49ers had lost their quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the season last week, this game was really a lot closer than it should’ve been. But on the other hand, maybe this should’ve been expected due to the state of the defense minus Joey Bosa. Still, though the Chargers defense had a bit of a rough start, they came through when they needed to.
Los Angeles Chargers Pass Defense Helps Team to Victory
The Defense Bends…
Now in defense of the Chargers defense, part of the reason they were down 17-6 was because quarterback Philip Rivers threw a pick-six on the first offensive drive. That certainly is not the fault of the defense. But all the offensive plays that happened afterwards for the 49ers? Those are certainly on the pass defense.
Keep in mind, Garoppolo is out for the season, as previously stated. C.J. Beathard was the starter today for the 49ers, and there would have been little reason to expect much out of him. And yet, the defense surrendered 298 passing yards to him. The gaffes of this defense included a drive which lasted 21 plays and 10 minutes and allowing an 82-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle. That touchdown happened in part because of a horrific angle taken by Jahleel Addae. Also, Trevor Williams (the number two cornerback) struggled a bit early on as well and made a couple bizarre mistakes given that he’s had plenty of experience at that position.
…But Doesn’t Break
Now, saying that the defense didn’t break might seem odd given that they gave up an 82-yard touchdown pass and 298 total passing yards to a rather iffy backup quarterback. But the thing is, the defense recovered themselves in the second half (save for that long touchdown pass) and made plays when they needed to.
Williams, in particular, redeemed himself. He had an interception near the end zone that he almost took back for a touchdown, and then later he had a critical third-down stop. And despite some early mistakes, he had the second most tackles on the day for the Chargers with eight. The Chargers got a second interception later. Defensive tackle Isaac Rochell had the pick, but it happened in part because of first-rounder rookie Derwin James hitting Beathard as threw it. (This was the interception that ended the game.) Particularly in the fourth quarter, it felt like the defense as a whole (not just the pass defense) locked things down.
Last Word
Obviously, the defense wasn’t the only thing that helped the Chargers win. Rivers shook off the early interception and had three touchdown passes himself and running back Melvin Gordon had a big day as well. But some of those plays the defense made down the stretch helped put the Chargers in a position to win.
On the other hand, it could be said that the defense is going to have to play better regardless because struggling even a bit against a backup quarterback like Beathard is not a good look. Perhaps they can build off the good parts of their performance on Sunday. Next up, they’ll play against a 1-3 Oakland Raiders squad. Their quarterback, Derek Carr, passed for over 400 yards on Sunday. The defense will certainly need to play better to avoid getting shredded by him. Luckily for the Chargers, they’ll have the benefit of the Raiders defense being arguably even worse.
