The Los Angeles Chargers will look to bounce back this week against the Tennessee Titans following a heartbreaking 36-34 loss in their Sunday home opener against the Miami Dolphins.
Though the Chargers led for most of the game, the Dolphins scored what would be the winning touchdown with 1:45 left in the 4th quarter on a four-yard pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to wide receiver Tyreek Hill. While L.A.’s offense was productive throughout, headlined by 164 total yards and one touchdown from running back Austin Ekeler, the Chargers were unable to drive into field goal range as the clock wound down.
The Bolts defense gave up “far too many big plays,” said head coach Brandon Staley, after Tagovailoa set a new career-high with 466 passing yards. 215 of them came via Hill, who had two touchdowns on the night.
Luckily for Staley, Tennessee doesn’t boast the same weapons that Miami does with the likes of Tagovailoa, Hill, and Jaylen Waddle. The Titans did add highly-coveted wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in free agency, though nothing compares to the speed, and thus separation ability, Hill brings to an offense.
Having also lost in Week 1, the Titans shouldn’t pose as much of a threat to the Chargers as the Dolphins did, and L.A. can certainly bounce back and get a win in Tennessee this Sunday. But in order to do so, they’ll need to figure out their pass rush.
In Week 1, the Chargers couldn’t get to Tagovailoa, registering just two quarterback hits and zero sacks. Coach Staley attributed the clean sheet more to the Dolphins’ willingness to get the ball out quickly, and his team’s lack of pass coverage.
“When he got to the top of his drop, the ball was out,” Staley said, having been asked about the lack of production from defensive stars Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa.
Regardless of the reason(s) for this rut, the Chargers’ pass rush must put more pressure on Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill than they did against to Tagavailoa to ease the strain on their secondary. That should be a manageable expectation — the Titans allowed the fifth-most sacks in 2022. After losing the cornerstone of their offensive line in three-time Pro-bowler Taylor Lewan this offseason, they allowed ten quarterback hits and three sacks against New Orleans on Sunday. The opportunities will be there for Mack and Bosa off the edge, as well as defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day. The Rutgers product was the only Charger to hit Tagovailoa Sunday, in addition to helping to hold Miami’s rushing attack to just 70 yards.
Limiting Tennessee’s passing game will also be crucial to the Chargers’ hopes of slowing down running back Derrick Henry. If Tannehill and the Titans are able to push the ball downfield through the air, the Chargers will have to spread out their defense, leaving fewer hats in the box and more space for Henry to demonstrate why he’s arguably the most dominant tailback in football.
The health of Ekeler will also be a huge factor in Sunday’s game as well as the rest of the Chargers’ season, after the star running back suffered an ankle injury in the loss to Miami. His status for Sunday is unknown, but as of Wednesday, he has yet to return to practice. Should he miss the game, Joshua Kelley is a more-than-capable alternative, and, along with a strong passing attack led by quarterback Justin Herbert, should provide L.A. with more than enough potential on offense to get back to their winning ways.
While there’s certainly an element of luck to winning and losing close games, last week’s loss provided another example of a feeling Chargers fans have become too familiar with: Losing games from winning positions in the fourth quarter.
The Bolts lost three regular-season games which they led in the fourth quarter last season, twice to the Kansas City Chiefs and once to the San Francisco 49ers. Then, L.A. infamously blew a 27-0 lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card Round of last season’s playoffs, crashing out of the postseason with a 31-30 loss.
While the Dolphins game exposed plenty of the team’s weaknesses (especially defensively), it was also a hard-fought battle between two teams likely destined for the playoffs. Coming up against a weaker Titans team, the Chargers should take care of business on the road and even up their record at 1-1.
The Chargers play the Titans Sunday in Nashville at 10:00 a.m. PDT on CBS.