Minus tackling fix, Bolts likely to lose

For NFL players who fall short of the playoffs, golf courses and tropical waters beckon.

Expect Chargers defenders to pack putters and swim trunks next week, if they whiff versus Chiefs ball-carriers Sunday to the same extent they did Oct. 19.

“One of our worst-tackling games,” linebacker Jarret Johnson called it Friday.

Bolts defenders appeared to be wearing roller skates defending star rusher Jamaal Charles on a 16-yard scoring run.

Later, fullback Anthony Sherman ran out of Kendall Reyes’ grasp for a touchdown, and receiver A.J. Jenkins, emerging from a cluster of Chargers, went 18 yards with a quick pass.

Johnson praised Kansas City’s “very confusing offense” that uses “weird motions and formations” and, somewhat like Seattle’s design, melds “old West Coast stuff with a lot of new stuff that comes out of college football.”

But the Chargers helped out.

“One you get guys bottled in, you’ve got to keep them bottled in,” Johnson said. “And you’ve got to do a good job of one-on-one tackling, which is very tough to do.”

Kansas City, a 23-20 winner, piled up 154 yards rushing, completed passes to 11 different targets and held the ball for 39 minutes.

Last Saturday, the Ugly Chargers showed up again. The 49ers ripped off 182 rushing yards in the first half.

San Francisco has one of the NFL’s most creative run games. The Chargers were new to the 49ers’ distinctive scheme, other than in an exhibition, and don’t have a scout-team quarterback as speedy as Colin Kaepernick.

So, it wasn’t entirely stunning the Chargers were inept early in the game.

“They have every run known to man,” safety Eric Weddle said this week. “A lot of stuff, we saw (on film). But it’s just hard to get a feel for it -- and then to see at it at game speed.”

Kaepernick jetted for a 90-yard scoring run after halftime; otherwise, the Chargers allowed only 94 yards in the second half and overtime. “We got adjusted to it,” Weddle said. “We tackled better and made a lot of plays.”

Where in the first game with Kansas City the Chargers lacked Melvin Ingram, Manti Te’o, Jerry Attaochu and, for a half, Brandon Flowers, all four are expected to be ready for the rematch. The Chiefs will go with backup quarterback Chase Daniel for injured Alex Smith.