Chargers can’t get it done in fourth quarter in loss to Cowboys
It’s mid-October and the Chargers have a losing record as they get ready to face Kansas City, which again leads the AFC West after winning the division each of the last seven years.
Rarely has a 2-3 mark looked so daunting. But a bunch forecast to contend for everything the NFL offers is instead one of only four teams in the conference with a losing record following a 20-17 defeat to Dallas on Monday night.
“That’s what it is,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said. “We gotta roll with it. … We’re going to Kansas City. We need this big win. We need to band together [and have] a good week of practice. Let’s ... go! It’s the NFL. It’s fun.”
Fun?
The Chargers just lost when their franchise quarterback had his pass intercepted in the last 90 seconds.
Some consider USC’s Caleb Williams to be a shoo-in as the top pick in the NFL draft, but scouts say North Carolina’s Drake Maye is a candidate.
They just lost when they failed to sufficiently protect quarterback Justin Herbert or adequately run the ball.
They just lost when their defense allowed three third-down conversions on the Cowboys’ final, clinching scoring drive.
And they just lost after consecutive wins briefly righted a season that again threatens to slip sideways in the aftermath of another failure in prime time.
“This is the NFL, man,” Kendricks said. “It’s not easy. I’ve been in this situation before. There’s only one thing to do and that’s get to work, get back to practice.”
Let’s start with the finish, with Herbert misfiring to rookie Quentin Johnston with 1:22 remaining and Dallas cornerback Stephon Gilmore securing the game-deciding interception.
The play came on third-and-10 at their 25-yard line and with the Chargers just three snaps into a potential triumphant drive that could have bold-faced Herbert’s ability in the clutch.
Instead, there was ESPN noting that, in the fourth quarter of one-score games, Herbert now has thrown 13 passes that were intercepted, five more in such situations than anyone since he entered the league in 2020.
“I missed a couple receivers,” Herbert said. “Threw some bad passes. There was a lot left out there. There’s a lot to work on and a lot to improve on.”
Breaking down the notable numbers behind the Chargers’ 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday — scoring and statistics.
The pickoff — a snap after he was sacked by Dallas’ Micah Parsons for an eight-yard loss — finished a night when Herbert twice missed an open Keenan Allen for big gains.
The sack was the only one for the Cowboys, but that total lied as a story teller. Herbert was pressured throughout the night and hit eight times, according to the NFL’s statistics.
He finished 22 of 37 for 227 yards, with short touchdown passes to Allen and Gerald Everett.
Herbert was asked specifically if, given the Cowboys’ steady pressure, he felt rushed on his two overthrows to Allen.
“Even if I was, that’s on me to be able to calm my feet down, stay good in the pocket and hand deliver that strike,” he said. “He gave us those opportunities to get those explosive plays. That’s on me to stand in there, deliver and do my job to get him the ball.”
Afterward, Chargers coach Brandon Staley said his team’s inability to run the ball — 53 yards on 23 attempts, a per-carry average of 2.3 yards — permitted Dallas’ “rush to really express itself.”
The Chargers’ most efficient runner Monday was Herbert. Without his production, the offense totaled just 33 yards rushing on 17 tries. The Chargers picked up only two of their 18 first downs on the ground.
“We got to take a hard look at what we’re doing,” Staley said. “We have to be more effective in that phase if you’re going to play high-level offense against a pass rush like that.”
Still, the Chargers were knotted with the Cowboys 17-17 deep into the fourth quarter. That’s when their defense, having played admirably to that point, was unable to stop Dallas in three crucial situations.
The Cowboys went 54 yards in 14 plays with Brandon Aubrey hitting a 39-yard field goal to make it 20-17 with 2:19 remaining.
Along the way, Dallas converted third-and-18 when two Chargers cornerbacks — Michael Davis and Ja’Sir Taylor — were called for illegal contact, third-and-six when CeeDee Lamb beat Taylor for an 18-yard gain and third-and-nine when Brandin Cooks beat Asante Samuel Jr. for an 11-yard pick up.
“Get off the field,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “It’s third-and-18. It’s third-and-15. It’s third-and-10. Those chances are in favor of the defense. We gotta start winning those downs.”
There were flaws throughout the Chargers’ performance against the Cowboys, but Justin Herbert is paid to rescue wins from the ashes and he could not.
Instead, the Chargers too often lost them Monday and they lost another game that felt big in the moment and figures to only increase in size as the season continues and the opportunities to make a move dwindle.
It’s mid-October and the Chargers have a losing record as they now cling to hopes that appear to be teetering.
“The frustration isn’t there because we have 12 more games,” defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day insisted. “A lot can happen. A lot can change. … I’m optimistic in this team. I’m optimistic in the guys.”
Go beyond the scoreboard
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