For Chargers D, good not good enough
The solution isn’t complicated.
Not as the Chargers defense is concerned.
The past two games saw the unit play some of its best football of the year. A couple prolific offenses, first the Patriots and then the Broncos, were held below their season scoring average, stifled upon entering the red zone.
Two strong efforts.
No wins to show for them.
“Play better,” defensive coordinator John Pagano said. “We’ve got to play better.”
San Diego can help save its season Saturday night with a win against the 49ers. For the defense, it looks to further elevate its game. The group has done enough in recent three weeks to keep the Chargers in games. Somehow, it must do more.
Now, no one at Chargers Park is saying the offense won’t turn things around.
No matter how banged up quarterback Philip Rivers may be, with him on the field, even with running back Ryan Mathews and wide receiver Keenan Allen standing on a crowded sideline, there is confidence the offense can top the one touchdown it scored in each of the past two games.
But the 49ers have the NFL’s third-ranked defense..
“I think our offense is going to come out and play lights out, but you never know,” safety Eric Weddle said. “The last couple weeks, we played really, really, really good, but there’s one or two plays where you have to make. If you make them, maybe you have a chance to win the game. If you don’t, you end up losing. That’s what we’re trying to do, to somehow play even better than we’re doing because maybe that’s the type of game we might be in.”
There has been plenty of good.
A rotation introduced over the Week 10 bye has been featured in the five games since, the Chargers subbing heavily between their base, nickel and dime defenses.
The design allowed different players to focus on their role in specific personnel groupings, be it defensive end Kendall Reyes and inside linebacker Kavell Conner in the 3-4 base or defensive tackle Ricardo Mathews and inside linebacker Andrew Gachkar in the nickel.
Players seems to have responded to that.
Weddle said that the on-field communication has been good, the defense doing a better job of playing together here down the stretch.
Then, there is the red zone.
On Nov. 30, the Ravens were held to field goals on four of seven red-zone trips. On Dec. 7, the Patriots scored one touchdown, had two field goals and were intercepted by linebacker Manti Te’o over four appearances.
Last Sunday, the Broncos reached the red zone three times. Three times, they settled for field goals.
That wasn’t enough.
It can’t be enough moving forward.
A play like Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman breaking loose in the fourth quarter for a 69-yard touchdown can’t happen. A play like Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas catching a deep pass and shaking a Chargers safety in the open field for a 36-yard touchdown late in the third quarter can’t happen.
“We did some things great,” Pagano said, “but at the end of the day, we’ve got to not let the ball get over our heads. We’ve got to hit the quarterback when we have the opportunity to hit the quarterback. We’ve got to come up with those turnovers when we have them.
“Those things change games. No matter what. There are no moral victories in this game. The thing we’ve got to do is learn to finish and play better… Against the San Francisco 49ers this week, we’ve got to learn to play all four quarters and get it done.”
