{"id":493459,"date":"2026-10-12T10:36:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T10:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/493459\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T10:36:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T10:36:45","slug":"nick-canepas-report-card-qb-earns-another-failing-grade-as-chargers-fall-to-0-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/493459\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Canepa’s Report Card: QB earns another failing grade as Chargers fall to 0-5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nick Canepa grades the Chargers following Sunday\u2019s 23-17 loss to the Broncos at SoFi Stadium:\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Quarterbacks: F<\/p>\n

Justin Herbert just can\u2019t do it, even when a game is winnable. He threw a short touchdown to third-string tight end Hayden Rucci that tied it at 10 after a 9-minute, 28-second drive to open the third quarter. He ran effectively, but he had the monster fumble loss when hit by his lineman\u2019s foot. His late pick ruined the effort.<\/p>\n

Running backs: B
\nKimani Vidal broke loose on a brilliantly blocked, tackle-busting 42-yard touchdown run to put his side up 17-10. Keaton Mitchell had moments catching the ball. Omarion Hampton, where are you?
\nReceivers: F<\/p>\n

The bottom of a barrel, which wasn\u2019t bountiful to begin with, was near-empty. Ladd McConkey, with a bad foot, dressed but didn\u2019t play. Tre Harris became the ace (aces can have big drops). He also got hurt and left. Quentin Johnston, for better or worse, was in the nurse\u2019s office, so there was at least a chance for fewer drops. The tight end room was hit. Theo \u201c?\u201d Wease caught a pass.<\/p>\n

Offensive line: C<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s starting five: LT Travis Burke; LG Logan Taylor; C Jake Slaughter; RG Cole \u201cHolding Isn\u2019t\u201d Strange and RT Alex Harkey. Four rookies. Veteran Strange was the only lineman on the field thought to be a starter at the beginning of training camp. Tackles Rashawn Slater (ankle surgery; will miss four weeks) and Joe Alt (neck) were out.<\/p>\n

Defensive line: B<\/p>\n

No matter what, Teair Tart can play \u2014 when he isn\u2019t jumping offside. Jamaree Caldwell had a nice tackle for loss. The team was good versus the run; the \u201cD\u201d didn\u2019t lose this.<\/p>\n

Linebackers: B<\/p>\n

Rookie Akheem Mesidor finally had his name called, once, on a big sack. Tuli Tuipulotu forced a fumble on Denver quarterback Bo Nix and recovered it. He also batted down a pass. Del\u2019Shawn Phillips tipped a pass, which could have been a big play, except sometimes-worthless replay didn\u2019t agree. Daiyan Henley continues to tackle people, and there aren\u2019t many linebackers better in coverage.<\/p>\n

Secondary: C+<\/p>\n

Derwin James was out again. Tarheeb Still got robbed with a PI penalty on an uncatchable pass. Tony Jefferson did likewise on one of those underthrown balls. Cam Hart was beaten deep early. RJ Mickens grabbed a facemask near the goal line, leading to the first TD. Genesis Smith had an important tip, then got lost in the desert on a TD pass.<\/p>\n

Special teams: C<\/p>\n

Cameron Dicker The Kicker opened their scoring with a 42-yard field goal. Holding on a punt led to great Broncos field position.<\/p>\n

Coaching: F<\/p>\n

Jim Harbaugh had his walking wounded ready to play, but it wasn\u2019t enough. He decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 while leading 17-10 in the fourth quarter. Herbert didn\u2019t make it. You could see where the coach was coming from, but he gave Denver a short field \u2014 and the win. Harbaugh has to understand timeouts are precious things.<\/p>\n

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

The NFL Team That Used To Be Here has always played the Chiefs tough during the Patrick Mahomes era. But this is different. It\u2019s impossible to imagine a road vehicle with four flat tires winning this game.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nick Canepa grades the Chargers following Sunday\u2019s 23-17 loss to the Broncos at SoFi Stadium:\u00a0 Quarterbacks: F Justin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,1333,752,74,76,75,127],"class_list":["post-493459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-latest-headlines","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-nfl","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493459","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=493459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}