Saints cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. picked off quarterback Easton Stick on a pass intended for wide receiver Terrell Bynum near the end zone with a little under a minute left in regulation.
Keys to the game
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The Chargers offense was outgained 339-309 yards.
The Chargers had three turnovers.
The Chargers were 3-15 on third down.
The Chargers held the Saints to 2.3 yards per carry.
The Chargers allowed five sacks.
The Chargers held the Saints offense to 5-of-17 (29%) on third-down attempts.
3 stars of the game
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LB Daiyan Henley: Henley was all over the field, finishing with a team-high nine tackles, one for loss. He also finished as a blitzer and had half a sack.
WR Quentin Johnston: Johnston did a nice job finding spacing and making himself wide open. He caught all three of his targets for 37 yards.
S JT Woods: Woods has been stacking up a lot of good days in practice, and it carried over to live-game action on Sunday. He showed promise as a tackler and was consistently around the football in coverage, finishing with a pass defended.
Quick Hits
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After an inspiring performance last weekend against the Rams, the offense took a step back on Sunday. The offensive line did Stick no favors, as he was sacked five times and struggled to open holes for the running backs.
Stick’s athleticism helped the offense a little bit. He finished with 63 yards and two touchdowns on seven rushes. But overall, Stick did not see the field as well as he did in the preseason opener, missing open receivers and making a few poor throws, two of which resulted in interceptions.
Stick played the entire game. No snaps for Max Duggan.
The running game was nothing to write home about, but Isaiah Spiller ran the ball well in his limited opportunities, showing speed, power and contact balance. Spiller finished with 5.4 yards per carry.
After a couple of dropped passes last Saturday, Johnston caught all his targets. This is an area that will continue to be a work in progress.
Tight end Stone Smartt led the team with four receptions. Smartt also finished as a blocker.
Edge defender Tuli Tuipulotu made some good plays. Tuipulotu had a tackle for loss and a quarterback pressure on the next play. He had a few reps where he dropped back into coverage, as well.
Henley had several open-field tackles for minimal gains and raised eyebrows with his sack on quarterback Jameis Winston.
Woods is starting to come into his own with the coverage chops and the improvement in his open-field tackling.
Cornerback Tiawan Mullen had a strong showing with a great tackle on special teams earlier and a pass breakup.
The interior part of the defensive line was stout, stymying the Saints’ rushing offense.
What's next?
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The Chargers close out the preseason next Friday, Aug. 25, against the 49ers at Levi Stadium at 7:00 pm PT.
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