The Chargers got it half right in Jim Harbaugh’s debut as their coach, relying on their defense to keep the Las Vegas Raiders in check for a half while their offense got warmed up for a much better second half Sunday. Here’s what we learned, what we heard and what comes next:
DEFENSIVE DOMINATION
No question, the Chargers’ defense was way, way, way ahead of their offense during training camp and in three exhibition games featuring mostly backups. It appeared to be the case again during a 22-10 victory in the season-opening game Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
In the parlance of baseball, the pitchers were ahead of the hitters to start the season. In the parlance of football, it’s a long season, but not that long. In other words, there’s not much time for the offense to play catch-up and display the same sort of success and efficiency as the defense.
“It was a great performance, an inspired performance,” Coach Jim Harbaugh said of the play of the Chargers’ defense in limiting the Raiders to 71 yards rushing on 22 carries, an average of 3.2 yards per attempt. “I thought it was lights out, really. The whole team was inspired by the defensive play.”
The Raiders were 5 for 14 on third-down efficiency (35.7%) and 0 for 1 on fourth-down efficiency. They gained 296 yards overall, averaging a modest 5 yards per play. They fumbled twice and Gardner Minshew II threw one interception, a tipped pass that Poona Ford picked off late in the game.
Las Vegas’ only touchdown came on a 31-yard pass play from Minshew to Alexander Mattison in the final minute of the first quarter for a 7-3 lead for the Raiders.
SECOND HALF SURGE
Actually, if you chuck the film of the first half in the trash can, you would see that the Chargers were actually quite efficient offensively. They had nine of their 11 first downs in the second half, three extended scoring drives of 60 yards or more and two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
What’s more, the Chargers didn’t lose a fumble or throw an interception.
Overall, they gained 316 yards, including 176 on the ground. J.K. Dobbins rushed for 135 yards and one touchdown on only 10 carries. He scored what proved to be the decisive touchdown on a 12-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter, giving the Chargers a 16-7 lead with 14:55 left.
Did the Chargers simply wear down the Raiders on a day in which it was 97 degrees at the opening kickoff? Did the Chargers’ patience pay off during a game in which they only made a few subtle tweaks to their offense in the second half, including playing without a huddle at times?
Both things could be true.
“It was warm, it was a warm day,” Chargers center Bradley Bozeman said. “For sure, you can, you can definitely tell when you wear a team down. I think we definitely started wearing on them, for sure. When you have that kind of heat, you can wear defenses down, especially when you run the ball consistently.
“So, I think we did wear them down.”
Of the Chargers’ second-half adjustments, quarterback Justin Herbert said, “Just being patient. You know, just knowing that we got our stuff, we got the right guys out there. We had to settle in. A few too many penalties in the first half, but I thought once they settled in, got the ball moving, I thought it was a lot better. For us to just go out there, play with confidence, play fast, that’s what we have to do.”
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TOO MANY PENALTIES
The Chargers’ offense was penalized five times in the first half, including four for false starts. Once they cleaned that up in the second half, Herbert was able to direct the Chargers to a field goal and two touchdowns and a physical, no-nonsense victory over an AFC West rival.
“There’s no excuse for the penalties we had early,” Harbaugh said. “We’re going to work on that. Going from Week 1 to Week 2, I think that’s where you can make the most amount of progress across the entire season in a one-week period. So, we’re really focused, laser focused on getting better this week.”
WHAT COMES NEXT
The Chargers (1-0) hit the road to play the Carolina Panthers (0-1) on Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers delivered a real clunker in their season-opening game, a 47-10 loss to the Saints in New Orleans, a game in which Brice Young’s first pass of the season was intercepted.
