EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Jim Harbaugh called it a “big-time football fight,” and that feels like an apt description of the Los Angeles Chargers’ Sunday night win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It was like two heavyweights going at it,” Harbaugh said.
The Chargers dominated the early rounds. The Bengals — namely Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins — got their haymakers off in the later rounds. The Chargers delivered the knockout blow in the waning seconds of the final round.
This was a big test for the Chargers, and they passed. Harbaugh does not prioritize the percentage grade. The NFL is binary in that way. Pass-fail. A win is a win. A loss is a loss. As Harbaugh said Monday, “All the stats matter. The one that matters the most is how many points you score, how many points they score.”
The percentage grade, though, does help in projecting what the Chargers can be with December inching closer. There were positives and negatives in this game in all phases. From those positives and negatives, there are lessons to learn about where the Chargers are.
We saw two versions of the Chargers defense, one in the first half and one in the second half. The big change was how Burrow managed pressure.
Burrow was pressured on 45 percent of his dropbacks in the first half, according to TruMedia. He was pressured on 42.9 percent of his dropbacks in the second half. So the pass rush was able to sustain wins through both halves. Burrow was just able to mitigate the pressure in the second half.
When pressured in the first half, Burrow averaged -0.73 EPA per dropback, according to TruMedia. He did not have a single scramble yard when pressured. He was sacked three times. When pressured in the second half, Burrow averaged 0.45 EPA per dropback. He had 28 scramble yards. He was not sacked. He was able to escape the pocket and create, like on the 34-yard completion to running back Chase Brown early in the fourth quarter that set up the tying touchdown.
“In the second half, he started using his legs a little bit more,” defensive lineman Morgan Fox said. “We got back there a lot. I think we put a lot of pressure on him to force him to move. I think he was able to kind of get out and throw some passes. I think in the first half we did some things where he couldn’t really get out, and that’s what allowed us to get some sacks.”
The strength of the Chargers defense lies in the pass rush. Even with Khalil Mack sitting out this game with a groin injury, the Chargers were able to generate consistent pressure. Joey Bosa played a season-high 55 snaps and finished with eight pressures. Tuli Tuipulotu also had eight pressures. Tuipulotu was also effective as a run defender, most notably on a tackle for loss in the fourth quarter. Harbaugh said Monday that Tuipulotu is providing “outstanding, elite-level play.” The interior rush has also been better than expected. Poona Ford had his third sack of the season Sunday night. He and Morgan Fox are threats to win one-on-one matchups on any given snap.
another one on third down
📺 | @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/e7gSFfwGRw
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) November 18, 2024
When the pass rush is getting home, it can alleviate weaknesses on the back end. When it is not getting home, those weaknesses come to the forefront. That is what happened in the second half.
“The greatness of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and Joe Burrow,” Harbaugh said, “you can’t stop them.”
On Higgins’ 42-yard touchdown in the third quarter, the Chargers doubled Chase and Higgins. But Higgins was able to beat his double-team — Ja’Sir Taylor at corner and Elijah Molden at safety — with a slant-and-go. Taylor and Molden were guarding against an in-breaking route, and it was the perfect call in the perfect moment.
“We could have played it better,” Harbaugh said. “You tip your cap and come back for the next one.”
The Chargers secondary was also navigating less-than-ideal circumstances. They played eight different defensive backs. Seven of those defensive backs played at least 40 snaps. Kristian Fulton was in and out as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury. Cam Hart left the game in the third quarter after suffering a concussion. The moving pieces had an impact on the second-half performance. And Burrow left some plays on the field, none bigger than the missed deep shot down the right sideline to Chase on the Bengals’ second-to-last offensive possession.
Still, the Chargers made just enough plays. Fulton had two mammoth pass breakups in the fourth quarter. He played tight coverage on a Higgins comeback route on a second-and-8. The Bengals missed a 51-yard field goal two plays later. On the next drive, he broke up a pass to the flat intended for Brown. The Bengals punted two players two plays later.
On a third-and-6 earlier in the fourth quarter, rookie Tarheeb Still came up with a pass breakup while in coverage on Chase. The Bengals missed a 48-yard field goal on the next snap. Still was dropping as one of the two-deep players in an inverted Cover 2 look. Chase broke outside into the hole to Still’s side. Still flipped his hips and drove on Burrow’s throw, knocking it away.
“You’re just battling, you’re just fighting,” Harbaugh said. “I thought our guys did a heck of job with that.”
Offensively, quarterback Justin Herbert was on another planet in the first half. It was one of the best halves of his career. The Chargers led 24-6 at halftime. This could have been an opportunity for offensive coordinator Greg Roman to lean into the running game. Instead, he put the ball in Herbert’s hands. The Chargers only had eight designed rushes on 32 second-half plays. One of those designed rushes was a swing pass to receiver Derius Davis that technically traveled backward.
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It seemed like a chance to heavily involve running back Gus Edwards, who has always thrived late in games because of his physical running style. Edwards played his last snap with 13:23 to go in the third quarter. Harbaugh said Edwards’ lack of snaps in the second half was not injury-related. Edwards missed four games earlier this season with an ankle injury.
“I think we could have run it more, but we didn’t need to,” left tackle Rashawn Slater said. “We got the win the way G-Ro called it, and can’t complain about that at all.”
Considering the way Herbert played in the first half, leaning into him as a passer was not necessarily a bad idea. Herbert just came back to earth to a degree in the final two quarters. He was off the mark on two third-down throws after the Bengals tied the score at 27. He also fumbled on a scramble in the fourth quarter when the Chargers were firmly in field goal range.
The Chargers ended up icing the game on a power run play to J.K. Dobbins, who took a handoff 29 yards for the winning touchdown. Ladd McConkey also made two season-altering plays on the final drive, and he is emerging as a legitimate No. 1 option in the Chargers passing offense.
The @Chargers got the ball with 45 seconds left.
Four plays later, they called game. #CINvsLAC pic.twitter.com/C7cOEzNt1A
— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024
But over this final stretch of the season, the Chargers have to find a way to run the ball consistently when they have leads coming out of halftime. On the season, the Chargers rank 31st in rushing success rate in the second halves of games, according to TruMedia.
When asked how he felt about the run-pass split in the second half, Harbaugh said, “I don’t even look at first half, second half. I just look at it, two really good teams, two really good quarterbacks, playmakers on offense, defense, the lines.”
The Chargers made the plays they needed to make to win the game.
They did not ace the test. But they passed.
The Baltimore Ravens await.
“Tremendous feeling of victory,” Harbaugh said. “Now we move on with humble hearts and get ready for another huge football fight.”
(Top photo of Justin Herbert and Quentin Johnston: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
