It wasn’t the prettiest, but a win is a win.
The Chargers set the Bears up for a game-winning field goal. Fortunately, Los Angeles was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief after kicker Eddy Piñeiro missed from 41 yards out.
The Bolts snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory over Chicago. They extend to 3-5 and are now third in the AFC West, moving above the Broncos.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the game:
The Good
DE Joey Bosa
Without a doubt, Bosa deserves to be recognized as the Player of the Game after his performance. The former Ohio State finished with seven tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks, one of which came on a critical third-down for the Bears late in the game.
CB Casey Hayward
Bosa wasn’t the only stud on the defensive side of the ball. In the secondary, Hayward came up with a few big plays in coverage, including a big time interception in the fourth quarter. He did have a couple unnecessary penalties but other than that, he took advantage of the pressure that the Chargers generated today.
RB Melvin Gordon & Austin Ekeler
The Chargers pair of touchdowns came from Gordon and Ekeler. Gordon, who had his best game yet, scored on a 19-yard carry. Even though he wasn’t dominant, his vision looked slightly better and he wasn’t stopping his feet behind the line of scrimmage nearly as much. Meanwhile, Ekeler came up in a big way through the air. Ekeler had an 11-yard receiving touchdown, which gave Los Angeles the lead.
Pass protection
The Chargers offensive line continues to be underwhelming in the run blocking department, but they need a great job at keeping the heat off quarterback Philip Rivers. Linebacker Khalil Mack wasn’t much of a factor and that’s largely due to offensive tackle Russell Okung’s dominant season debut.
Red zone defense
The Bears had a few gimme opportunities where they could’ve scored a touchdown in the first half when they were in the red zone. Even with a few penalties that went against the Chargers, their defense limited them to three field goals each time.
The Bad
Dropped passes
The Chargers main pass catchers all had similar stat lines, but that doesn’t necessarily tell the full story. Wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams each had a dropped pass, which would have resulted in a touchdown.
Pass coverage
Outside of cornerback Casey Hayward, there weren’t many positives from the Chargers pass coverage. The linebackers were beat on a consistent basis and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was finding a lot of openings because of their zone coverage, which was rather soft.
The Ugly
Rush defense
The Chargers can not stop the run. Coming into the game, the Bears ranked No. 28 in rushing yards per game (70). But Chicago doubled that by posting 150 yards on the ground. Outside of a few big plays from defensive tackle Damion Square, Los Angeles is consistently getting beat in the trenches.
