After coming out with a victory over the Colts in the regular season opener, here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Chargers’ 30-24 overtime win.
The Good
RB Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson: The Chargers opened up without Melvin Gordon, but Ekeler and Jackson showed that he isn’t needed to be successful. The two combined for 215 yards and three touchdowns from the line of scrimmage.
QB Philip Rivers: Rivers started Year 16 out with a bang. Despite being under a copious amount of pressure, the veteran quarterback still delivered with a solid performance. He finished 25-of-34 passing for 333 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
WR Keenan Allen: By no surprise, the Colts cornerbacks had no answer for Allen’s savvy route running ability. As a result, Allen was wide open all afternoon long, finishing with 123 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions.
Run blocking: The offensive line struggled to keep Rivers upright, but they did a nice job paving the way for Ekeler and Jackson. Center Mike Pouncey, who didn’t play this preseason, had a few key blocks.
P Ty Long: Long not only had punting duties, but he was responsible of filling in for Michael Badgley. Long made every kick with great accuracy, and all of his kickoffs were spot on.
The Bad
CB Brandon Facyson: Facyson was tasked with filling in for Michael Davis, who went down with a hamstring injury early on in the game. The Colts knew that Facyson was inexperienced in a starting role, and they quickly started exploiting him. He struggled in coverage, allowing a few big plays, including a touchdown.
Injuries: Though none of them were significant, the Chargers had seven players get banged up throughout the course of the game.
The Ugly
Pass protection: If it weren’t for the run game or Rivers’ ability to get the ball off quickly, there would’ve been less points scored because of the poor pass blocking. The group struggled as a whole, but left tackle Trent Scott had the worst performance. The unit allowed four sacks on the afternoon.
Run defense: The Chargers made the point to upgrade the front seven this offseason, but it was difficult to see the improvements when the defense was gashed for 203 yards on 33 carries. There was no push up front and tackling was an issue.
