The Chargers offense is the single most inefficient group in the entire NFL. They are 32nd in EPA/play and Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs was a new low point as they failed to reach the end zone for the first time this season.
They scored six points the entire game, none of which came on any of the Chiefs’ three turnovers. Those three takeaways turned into a pair of punts and a turnover of their own. The Chargers even got the ball at the one-yard line with four downs to score and they still kicked a field goal!
Each week this group looks more helpless than the last and now that they have finished their bye week, changes can be expected.
In what may be the last game Mike McDaniel calls in LA, here’s how things graded out for the Chargers.
WR Ladd McConkey – 70.3
OT Travis Burke – 68.7
C Jake Slaughter – 64.9
WR Derrius Davis – 61.3
QB Justin Herbert – 60.5
McConkey returned from missing the last two games to play eight snaps before exiting with another injury, this one to his head. His one catch for 17 yards was nearly enough to lead the team in receiving before Quentin Johnston’s 57-yard reception.
Burke continues to be the Chargers’ best healthy offensive lineman. He was steady across the board with a 65.5 in pass blocking and a 68.0 in run blocking.
Slaughter had a pair of penalties, including a back-breaking holding call at the one-yard line. He still finished with a pass block grade of 75.6 (first among OL) and a run block grade of 67.7.
AND Logan Taylor – 40.5
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith – 46.7
WR Quentin Johnston – 47.6
RB Keaton Mitchell – 49.3
TE Oronde Gadden II – 49.4
Another rough game for Taylor playing out of the guard position. His 47.0 pass block grade is second worst to Alex Harkey while his 37.9 in run blocking is worst among OLs.
Lambert-Smith had a pair of penalties and lost a catch that would otherwise have been a first down.
Johnston had another down but ended up receiving the Chargers’ longest game of the season with a 57-yard grab. Funnily enough, it looks like he ran into it by accident as it rested between his arm and shoulder as he fell to the ground.
CB Cam Hart – 89.1
LB Marlowe Wax – 81.5
LB Troy Dye – 76.3
S Tony Jefferson – 73.4
CB Isas Waxter – 72.1
Hart picked off Patrick Mahomes in the end zone for his second interception of the season. He finished with an elite 91.1 coverage grade after allowing one reception for four yards.
Wax and Dye combined to play just 15 snaps together but were both solid with grades above 70.0 in both run defense and tackling.
Jefferson had the second-best grade in tackling (81.9), the third-best run defense grade (69.3), and the fourth-best grade in coverage (69.0).
S Genesis Smith – 29.2
LB Del’Shawn Phillips – 29.5
CB Deane Leonard – 33.1
DT Teair Tart – 37.0
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu – 43.0
Smith continues to have a very up-and-down rookie season. His 95.0 game grade in Week Three is still a huge outlier compared to his three games with a grade of 35.5 or less, including two under 30.0. However, he remains a very consistent tackler, posting a 75.2 or higher in that spot through the first five games of the season. He allowed just one reception for 12 yards against the Chiefs, but that completion went to Travis Kelce for a first down on third-and-11.
Phillips recorded a team-low 29.8 coverage grade after allowing all three targets to complete for 62, nearly half of which came after the catch (28). His 26.9 tackling grade was also the worst on the team.
Leonard allowed two completions on two targets for 32 yards and was called for a DPI (which honestly shouldn’t have been flagged).
Tart recorded the team’s lowest run defense rating at 34.0.
Tuli finished with a 45.0 run defense grade (second worst) and 42.7 in coverage (fourth worst). His pass rush grade of 59.3 was fourth-best on the team, but not enough to make up for low marks elsewhere.