INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The dreaded second half arrived, and the Los Angeles Chargers desperately needed a play on offense. They had not scored a second-half touchdown since Week 1. Almost two months of this group wilting in the final two quarters, the exact time when Jim Harbaugh wants his players finding their best.
It was about midway through the third quarter, and the Chargers faced a second-and-9 from their own 40-yard line. Rookie receiver Ladd McConkey was aligned in the slot to the right. Receiver Joshua Palmer was to his outside. Quarterback Justin Herbert took the shotgun snap, faked a handoff to running back J.K. Dobbins and looked to his right.
McConkey had stuttered at the line of scrimmage before exploding upfield on a slot fade. He was one-on-one with New Orleans Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor. Herbert identified the matchup and floated a deep ball down the right sideline. Taylor was in tight coverage, but McConkey made a great adjustment to Herbert’s throw. After he secured the catch and regathered his feet, McConkey broke to the inside, running through Saints tackle attempts until he broke the goal line.
A 60-yard touchdown. Drought over. And more importantly, the emergence of McConkey as the big-play, explosive target the Chargers had been missing in their receiver room. McConkey finished with six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns, sparking the Chargers offense in a 26-8 win over the Saints at SoFi Stadium. McConkey is the first Chargers rookie with a 100-yard receiving game since Keenan Allen did it in 2013.
Filling the shoes of the player he was drafted to replace.
“It’s what we needed,” Harbaugh said of McConkey’s touchdown. “It’s what we’ve been needing.”
BAD LADD
📺 | @nflonfox pic.twitter.com/v66t4LR3Ck
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 27, 2024
This performance added a layer to what McConkey can provide the Chargers offense. Before Sunday, McConkey had 24 catches on the season. All 24 had come on Herbert throws that traveled 15 or fewer yards in the air, according to TruMedia. McConkey had proven himself as an excellent route runner. He thrived in the slot. He was a weapon in the short and intermediate areas of the field, especially on third down. Through seven weeks, McConkey was tied for the Chargers lead with five third-down-conversion catches.
The 60-yard touchdown was just the second time Herbert had targeted McConkey on a throw that traveled at least 25 yards in the air, according to TruMedia. It was the first time the two have connected on such a throw.
“He’s a complete receiver,” Herbert said. “To have that short game, those intermediate routes, he’s been so good at it, especially on third down. And now you open up some of those go balls that you got to respect. And for him to be able to line up anywhere, inside, outside, we got a true ballplayer on our hands.”
Added McConkey: “It’s huge when you can attack all three levels.”
ladd is a qb’s best friend pic.twitter.com/d1uchnsWBg
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 28, 2024
McConkey’s touchdown seemed to open up the Chargers’ downfield passing attack. On the ensuing drive, Herbert hit Palmer on a go ball down the right sideline for a 45-yard gain. Before Sunday, the Chargers had not completed a pass of 45 yards or more this season. They had two in three drives.
Herbert entered Sunday with three completions all season on throws that traveled at least 25 yards in the air, according to TruMedia. He had three such completions against the Saints. The third came later in the fourth quarter when Herbert threw to receiver Jalen Reagor on a back-shoulder ball. That set up McConkey’s second touchdown of the day three plays later in the back left corner of the end zone on an off-script throw from Herbert.
ANOTHA ONE
📺 | @nflonfox pic.twitter.com/Ey4zD3TqCc
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 27, 2024
Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, Reagor had caught the longest Herbert pass of the season to that point. After the catch, though, he fumbled through the end zone, turning the ball over.
Herbert, who finished 20-of-32 passing for 279 yards on Sunday, went back to Reagor on a deep shot in a key moment a week later.
“That’s a real leader,” Harbaugh said of Herbert.
Overall, it was an uneven game for the Chargers in all three phases. They gave up 366 yards of offense to the Saints, who made a quarterback change in the second half when they benched Spencer Rattler for Jake Haener. Running back Alvin Kamara had 122 scrimmage yards, including an explosive rush and an explosive reception. The Chargers did not tackle well. They salvaged the defensive performance by holding the Saints to 2-for-16 on third down.
JK Scott had one of the best punting games of his Chargers career, averaging 57.3 yards on six punts. But even special teams had breakdowns. The opening points of the game came on a safety when long snapper Josh Harris misfired on a punt snap to Scott. Kicker Cameron Dicker also missed an extra point.
Offensively, the Chargers struggled to run the ball again. The backs finished with 73 yards on 22 carries, a 3.32 yards per carry average. After two promising third-down showings coming out of the bye, the offense regressed in that phase, converting just three of 12 third downs.
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But explosive plays can mask deficiencies. Herbert was able to do it through the air. He also had a 38-yard scramble in the first quarter that seemed to jumpstart the offense after a sluggish start. Herbert took a blow from safety Tyrann Mathieu at the end of the scramble along the Chargers sideline. Herbert’s teammates erupted after the play.
“If it wakes up the team,” Herbert said. “I’ll do anything.”
Later in the first half, center Bradley Bozeman provided a wake-up call of his own. After a second-down play, Saints defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd was grabbing and twisting at Herbert’s injured right ankle. Bozeman saw the extracurriculars and launched himself at Shepherd, knocking him off Herbert.
“It was probably one of the dirtiest QB hits I’ve seen,” Bozeman said.
The refs called offsetting personal fouls on Bozeman and Shepherd. On the next snap, Herbert hit McConkey for a 15-yard gain. The Chargers drove 90 yards on 15 plays in 8:07 and capped it off with the first touchdown of the game.
“That’s the type of center that you want on your team,” Herbert said. “He will give everything for this team, and I appreciated what he did.”
The Chargers have been battling injuries at receiver. Quentin Johnston (ankle) missed his second straight game Sunday. DJ Chark (groin) has yet to play this season. It was already a thin position group after the Chargers moved on from Mike Williams and Allen in the offseason.
They needed someone to step up. On Sunday, that was McConkey. And if he can add this deep-field dimension to his game consistently, he can become a viable No. 1 target for Herbert.
“It pulls people out of the box. It makes you respect the deep throw,” Bozeman said of McConkey’s field-stretching. “It does everything for your offense, it really opens up your offense. And we know we have the quarterback behind us that can do it. It’s just a matter of us executing and getting it done.”
The answer at receiver might not be on the trade market. That answer could already be on the roster, wearing No. 15.
“We know what we can be,” McConkey said. “So let’s just go out there and put it on tape.”
(Photo of Ladd McConkey celebrating with Simi Fehoko and Zion Johnson: David Crane / MediaNews Group / Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
