2024-10-28 06:35:03
The Chargers needed to find a way to score touchdowns after halftime. They did just that in their 26-8 win over the Saints at home thanks to a pair of touchdowns from Justin Herbert to rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
McConkey, who came into this game leading the Chargers in both receptions and yards, turned in his first 100-yard performance with six catches for 111 yards and aforementioned scores. His first touchdown of the night will most certainly make the season highlight reel as he not only made a contested catch over a defender, he then hightailed it through the secondary 60 yards to the end zone.
Justin Herbert finished 20-of-32 for 279 yards and two touchdowns to go with 49 rushing yards on four carries. J.K. Dobbins led the team with 57 yards on 17 carries to go with a touchdown. As a team, they finished with 122 yards on 29 carries (4.2 YPC).
The defense was strong and consistent once again as they held the Saints to just eight points which only further cements their rank as the top NFL defense in total points allowed. The Bolts sacked the Saints quarterbacks five times, all of which came via different players.
Now at 4-3, the Chargers will be back on the road to play in Cleveland against the 2-6 Browns who just handed the Ravens a 29-24 loss earlier on Sunday.
For a complete quarter-by-quarter recap of today’s game, check it out below.
First Quarter
The Saints won the toss and chose to defer. The Chargers offense was up first.
Unfortunately, it’d be tough to write a worse start for the Bolts in this one. Through their first two drives, Justin Herbert completed just one-of-five passes for negative two yards as the team recorded consecutive three-and-outs. On the second punt, long snapper and JK Scott were seemingly on separate pages as the snapped was botched, leading to a safety for the Saints.
Just a little under five minutes into the game, the Chargers were down 2-0.
The Chargers were able to move the chains for the first time on their third drive of the game thanks to a pitch-and-catch to tight end Will Dissly. But the drive stalled on the next set of downs after a dropped pass by Dissly and a sack of Herbert on third down.
On their fourth drive of the game, Justin Herbert took a snap, scanned, and took off out of the pocket for a huge 38-yard run to get the Chargers past midfield. Before the opening quarter came to an end, the Bolts were inside field goal range facing a fourth down.
Second Quarter
As the period opened, Cameron Dicker came on to convert a 46-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 3-2 lead.
Elijah Molden almost had his third interception of the season, but a challenged incomplete pass off the hands of Saints tight end Taysom Hill was upheld despite the review showing no sign of the ball touching the turf.
The Chargers still converted their first third-down of the game and continued to march down the field. Just outside the red zone, Herbert lofted a fade route to Simi Fehoko but cornerback Marshon Lattimore held his inside arm which drew a flag for pass interference, setting the Chargers up at the three-yard line. Following a false start penalty on tight end Eric Tomlinson, Herbert found Ladd McConkey to the one-yard line before Dobbins punched it in. Dicker uncharacteristically missed the extra point wide left which pushed the Chargers’ lead to 9-2.
Just before the half, Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler was able to move the offense into field goal range. A New Orleans field goal minimized the Bolts’ lead to 9-5 before halftime.
Third Quarter
The Chargers offense helped flip the field by going from their 10-yard line to nearly midfield before being forced to punt back to the Saints. On the other end, Scott Matlock brought down Rattler on second down for his first sack of the season before a Daiyan Henley blitz forced a third-down incompletion.
The ensuing Chargers drive only lasted two plays as Herbert found McConkey deep up the right sideline who made a great contested grab against cornerback Alontae Taylor. Not only did he make the catch, McConkey was able to tightrope the sideline, cut back inside, and weave his way through the Saints secondary en route to striding into the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown. The big play also pushed the rookie wideout over 100 yards receiving for the first time in his career.
After trading punts, the Saints found some life on offense thanks to a blow play by edge rusher Bud Dupree. While trying to punch the ball out of Kamara’s hands, Dupree turned a stuffed run into a big first down after he allowed the ball-carrier to break free and rumble for a chunk of yards. Eventually, the Saints kicked a field goal to bring the score to 16-8.
Fourth Quarter
Herbert opened the quarter with a huge pass to Josh Palmer for a 45-yard gain. The Chargers then stalled just inside the Saints 15-yard line which led to another Cameron Dicker field goal which pushed their lead back to 11.
Backed up inside their 10-yard line to begin their next drive, the Chargers narrowly avoided a second sack when Herbert stiff-armed a Saints defender in the end zone before getting the pass off in the direction of Palmer. They were forced to punt and the Saints began with great field position near midfield.
Wide receiver Chris Olave took advantage of a blown coverage that helped New Orleans get into field goal range. The Chargers defense stiffened up and fortunately held the Saints to a field goal attempt. However, Blake Grupe was wide right and they came away with no points to show for the promising drive.
The Chargers finally managed to shut the door on any chance of a Saints comeback with yet another second-half touchdown drive. Jalen Reagor, in just his second game with the team, came down with a textbook back-shoulder fade that brought the Chargers into the red zone. Three plays later, Herbert was forced out of the pocket and lofted a pass to McConkey in the back left corner of the end zone who caught the ball behind the head of the defender for his second score of the day.
The Saints had one last drive to earn some points in a lost game, but they came up just short of the end zone after an overthrow by Jake Haener to end regulation.
The Chargers would leave SoFi Stadium with a win as they move to 4-3 on the year.
