Nick Canepa grades the Chargers following Sunday’s 34-17 win over the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas:
Quarterbacks: A
As Shawne Merriman says, playing teams with nothing to lose is the worst. Justin Herbert’s left hand was broken, his left arm bandaged, his right knee wrapped and sore. But he was brilliant from the start, usually with time to throw, and found Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey for touchdowns, then scored on a tush sneak before the half. Herbert a 33-yard run to open the fourth quarter. MVP stuff.
Running backs: A
Rookie Omarion Hampton, running hard, ripped off a 17-yarder, ran well all day and scored the game-clinching touchdown. Massive fullback Scott Matlock can flat block. Kimani Vidal walked off injured.
Receivers: A
Johnston’s beautiful one-handed catch opened scoring. He then a superb 50-yarder, and a massive 25-yarder late. Versatile rookie Tre Harris had a nice 23-yard catch and run on the first drive, followed by an 11, then a 14, then a big drop, then a possible dislocated finger. McConkey finally emerged, catching a 25-yard TD. KeAndre Lambert-Smith avoided tackles. Keenan Allen poked his head out.
Offensive line: A
Herbert’s only sack came when he purposely slid to run the clock at the end. Starting left tackle Jamaree Salyer limped off on the first drive with a hamstring injury, and was replaced by Austin Deculus. It appeared Trey “Turnstile” Pipkins had lost his “starting” right tackle job to Bobby Hart, anyway, but he didn’t help depth (there is none), sitting with an ankle. Trevor Penning got screwed on a bogus holding call, then he jumped twice. That negated a big Hampton run.
Defensive line: B
Teair Tart checked in with teacher early, then had a tackle-for-loss. Jamaree Caldwell batted down a pass. Caldwell and Da’Shawn Hand were in on the enormous 4th-and-1 stand in the third.
Linebackers: B
Maybe it just seemed like Denzel Perryman made every tackle, even in coverage, which isn’t his game. He had a horrible unnecessary roughness call. Tuli Tuipulotu made the first tackle on a run, then had the first sack, and had a big day. Khalil Mack drew a huge hold.
Secondary: B
Bad first half, great second half. Cam Hart got beaten by George Pickens for 28 yards on the first drive, then he got taken by him again on a 38-yard TD pass. Nobody covered Ryan Flournoy on his first touchdown, which took less than 5 minutes. Benjamin St-Juste got hurt late. Derwin James, pretty quiet, forced a fumble late that Tuipulotu recovered; it was the defense’s 14th forced turnover in their last 10 games.
Special teams: A-
Cameron Dicker The Kicker made his first field goal attempt, a 39-yarder, then nailed a 27-yarder to put his side up by 10. Da’Shawn Phillip makes plays on “teams,” in fact the first four tackles. JK Scott didn’t punt until 7:25 remained in the third quarter.
Coaching: A
Jim Harbaugh can adjust. He and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter obviously got together at halftime. Dallas did not score in the second half. Greg Roman had a third-and-1 and called a 50-yard pass downfield? Awful play call. But …
Next Opportunity — vs. Houston: C
This is a Saturday game against one of the best defenses in football.