{"id":111006,"date":"2025-12-28T09:23:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T09:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/111006\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T09:23:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T09:23:14","slug":"chargers-o-line-receivers-special-teams-all-get-fs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/111006\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers O-line, receivers, special teams all get Fs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nick Canepa grades the Chargers following Saturday\u2019s 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Quarterbacks: B<\/p>\n

Going in, Justin Herbert historically had more trouble with Houston (four TDs vs. six picks) than any team he\u2019s played. He was sacked on his first pass attempt and again on the next series. He soon was in a 14-0 hole. Fumbled twice, recovered both. Sacked five times. Had a big, 28-yard run to set up a TD pass. But he can\u2019t protect himself.<\/p>\n

Running backs: C<\/p>\n

Ace backup\/starter Kimani Vidal was in the nurse\u2019s office in a neck brace. Rookie Omarion Hampton had a block and catch on the same play. He can run, but had no space \u2014 until he got the 5-yard TD late.<\/p>\n

Receivers: F+<\/p>\n

Multi-talented rookie Tre Harris caught the first pass and ran a nice reverse. Keenan Allen unexpectedly dropped a huge third-down pass, and caught his first and only one 39 minutes in. Quentin Johnston finally caught one and then a massive 60-yarder \u2014 before rookie\u00a0 Orande Gadsden muffed a pass at the goal line that was picked, then had a big-time drop, then a TD catch. Ladd McConkey caught his first pass 51 minutes in.<\/p>\n

Offensive line: F-<\/p>\n

This marked the team\u2019s 27th starting O-line combination, with Bobby Hart moving to left tackle for Jaramee Salyer (who had been OK), and Trey \u201cOops\u201d Pipkins back at right. Hart gave up a sack right away.\u00a0A horrible unit.<\/p>\n

Defensive line: C<\/p>\n

The defense came to life \u2014 too late. Still, no sacks. Teair Tart and Da\u2019Shawn Hand were evident early. Tart tipped a pass, then another one. Hand lined up offside. Unforgivable.<\/p>\n

Linebackers: C<\/p>\n

Odafe Oweh finally got some pressure. Khalil Mack offered pressure. But there wasn\u2019t much of it. Mack had a nice TFL. There was more after they realized they needed to blitz, but no devastation. Mack also stopped a first down with a forced fumble. Daiyan Henley got completely screwed on an enormous roughing call.<\/p>\n

Secondary: D-<\/p>\n

Donte Jackson has had a fine year at corner, but got lost and drilled by Jayden Higgins on a 75-yarder a few minutes into it. Then Elijah Molden got beat on a long one shortly thereafter, but made up for it with a pick just before the half.\u00a0 Derwin James Jr. had a huge pick off a Hand tip, leading to a field goal. Tony Jefferson had a TFL. Refs called Tarheeb Still for an awful, brutal illegal contact penalty at the end. Pathetic. Can\u2019t throw that flag.<\/p>\n

Special teams: F-<\/p>\n

Cameron Dicker The Kicker opened their scoring with a 27-yard field goal, then the all-time most accurate kicker missed a 32-yarder and later a PAT. Those four points would have tied the game. JK Scott\u2019s punting stunk \u2014 really stunk.<\/p>\n

Coaching: D<\/p>\n

Jim Harbaugh and his staff did a nice job of adjusting their defense after two unlike-them long touchdown giveaways. But they can\u2019t do anything about one of the worst O-lines in history,<\/p>\n

Next Opportunity \u2014 at Denver: F<\/p>\n

The game is at Mile High, the toughest place to win.\u00a0How can this O-line block the sack leaders?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nick Canepa grades the Chargers following Saturday\u2019s 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium: Quarterbacks: B…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,1333,752,74,76,75,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-111006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-latest-headlines","9":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-san-diego-headlines","13":"tag-san-diego-news","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}