Chargers review: Defense ‘played well, but it wasn’t good enough’

Here’s what we learned, what we heard and what comes next after the Chargers’ 20-10 loss Sunday night to the Baltimore Ravens at SoFi Stadium, a result that underscored the yawning gulf between one of the NFL’s elite teams and another that has fallen well short of expectations:

DEFENSIVE SHUFFLE

Coach Brandon Staley and his defense deserve credit for limiting the Ravens’ offense to 20 points after Baltimore had scored 30 points or more in five consecutive games. The Ravens gained 197 yards rushing, which was a bit much, but Lamar Jackson threw for only 177 and had a rating of 82.4.

The Chargers sacked Jackson twice and forced him from the pocket numerous times, a far different outcome than one might have predicted going into the game. After all, the Chargers suffered too many defensive breakdowns to count in losses to the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions in the previous two games.

Staley’s pass coverage, in particular, was a disjointed mess against the Packers and Lions. So, he made changes to his starting lineup and, get this, the moves actually paid dividends. Deane Leonard started in place of Michael Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins started instead of Ja’Sir Taylor at cornerback.

Defensive backs Dean Marlowe and Essang Bassey got enhanced roles, too.

Davis played only four snaps, all on special teams.

No one expected a complete shutdown Sunday, but the Chargers gave up their fewest passing yardage in a game this season. Jackson threw only one touchdown pass, a 3-yard connection with rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers that gave the Ravens the lead for good in the second quarter, 7-3.

“I thought our guys played at a high level,” Staley said when asked about the impact of his new-look secondary. “They were up for the challenge. We need to build off this. When it comes to a defensive game, you have to get one more stop and we didn’t do that. We played well, but it wasn’t good enough.”

OFFENSIVE LETDOWN

The Chargers’ late-game struggles continued. Given a chance to either tie the score with a field goal or win the game with a touchdown after Justin Tucker sailed a 44-yard field goal wide left with 2:57 remaining, Justin Herbert and the offense got only as far as Baltimore’s 46-yard line.

The Chargers failed to convert on a fourth-and-6 play and Herbert was penalized for intentional grounding. The Ravens took over with 1:54 left and sealed their victory on Flowers’ 37-yard touchdown run on an end-around play with 1:36 remaining. One final Chargers possession also came up empty.

Herbert completed 29 of 44 passes for 217 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also was the Chargers’ leading rusher for the second consecutive game, gaining 35 of his 47 yards on a scramble down the left sideline that set up his 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gerald Everett.

Austin Ekeler had 10 carries for 32 yards.

The Ravens sacked Herbert three times, forcing one fumble.

“It’s awfully tough,” Herbert said of the Chargers’ third consecutive defeat. “The defense played really well. It’s up to us, as an offense, to go out there and execute and perform in those two-minute drills. We haven’t done that and that’s on us. The thing is you can’t let the last one affect your next one.”

QUESTIONS ABOUT ‘Q’

The Chargers selected TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston with the 21st overall pick in the draft last April. The Ravens picked Flowers out of Boston College with the 22nd selection. Johnston had one reception Sunday for 7 yards. Flowers had five catches for 25 yards and one touchdown.

Flowers also had a game-clinching 37-yard touchdown run.

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Johnston ended the game on the sideline after suffering an injury.

Flowers ended the game celebrating with his teammates.

“He had an issue with his ribs and didn’t go back into the game,” Staley said of Johnston. “It wasn’t that he couldn’t go back into the game. It’s just that we didn’t feel like, through the flow of the game with where he was, that it was the right thing (for Johnston) to go back into the game.”

WHAT COMES NEXT

The Chargers (4-7) play the New England Patriots (2-9) on Sunday in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Chargers must win each of their final six games to match last season’s 10-7 record, which was good enough to nail down their first playoff appearance since the 2018 season.