Monday night was a bit of a letdown after all the hype surrounding the matchup between Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh as the Chargers didn’t exactly show out in the second half. As the Chargers look to bounce back, here are a few things they can keep in mind when playing the Atlanta Falcons.
Chargers Keys To Victory Vs. Falcons
1. Pressure Kirk Cousins
According to Fox Sports, the Falcons currently rank fifth in passing offense. Cousins may not be a super mobile quarterback but he’s certainly still able to sling it. This season he has 2,807 passing yards with 17 receiving touchdowns. Cousins has always been a dependable quarterback and as long as he’s out there, he’s going to make plays.
The Chargers have to find a way to penetrate the pocket, either with their outside linebackers or by using their defensive lineman that has had success in the pass rush this year like defensive lineman Poona Ford. There are some big offensive weapons on the Falcons and the Chargers have to find a way to stop Cousins from connecting with them.
2. Contain Drake London and Darnell Mooney
Both London and Mooney have had career-highs in receiving touchdowns this year and are a core part of the Falcons offense, which ranks seventh in total offense. And according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) the majority of Mooney’s targets have been within the depth of 10 to 19 yards while London has also had quite a few targets in that range. The Chargers will need their receiving coverage to be on point for this next game to not let these two get out of hand.
Safety Alohi Gilman hasn’t reached the defensive heights he did last year, so I’m hoping these later games of the season will be where he begins to emerge, that is if he’s healthy, after sustaining an injury against the Ravens on Monday night. The same goes for Derwin James Jr., as he’s been doing well but hasn’t been the defensive disrupter of seasons past. Linebacker Daiyan Henley will be one to count on to help with the receiver coverage as well as contain the run, while hopefully, rookie cornerback Cam Hart will be back in business after sustaining an ankle injury last Saturday as well as recovering from a concussion from the Bengals game.
3. Capitalize on All Third Downs
This should be a no-brainer but it doesn’t always happen for the Chargers.
According to NFL.com, the Chargers have converted 57 of 148 third downs, and they’re in the middle of the pack (16th) in third-down offense. The Falcons currently rank 30th in third-down defense, so this will be an area the Chargers have to capitalize on.
Third down will be a time for a Hebert scramble or a reception from tight end Will Dissly who has the most yards after catch on the team. The Falcons’ defense does have heavy hitters when it comes to receiver coverage in terms of safeties Jessie Bates III and Justin Simmons. But the Chargers can put this game away if each third down goes their way, so hoping they have success in that area in this next matchup.
4. Stop The Explosive Plays
The Chargers got run all over by Ravens running back Derrick Henry on Monday night as he had 140 rushing yards including 101 after contact. While Ravens running back Justice Hill had a runaway 51-yard touchdown during the fourth, where safety Gilman couldn’t tackle him initially and linebacker Troy Dye, and cornerbacks Tarheeb Still and Elijah Molden were all on Justice’s tail as he sprinted just out of reach into the end zone.
During the second quarter, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson uncorked a bomb to Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman for a touchdown, even with cornerback Kristian Fulton in such tight coverage he was responsible for a pass interference penalty that was declined.
The Chargers had some missed tackles, and busted coverage, and the level of defensive play was down. So the defense needs some cleaning up prior to the next game. Daniel Popper of The Athletic noted that the Chargers were missing some of their key defensive pieces which could’ve helped, like linebacker Denzel Perryman who was out with a groin injury, while outside linebacker Khalil Mack was playing a limited number of snaps also due to a groin injury.
So if the Chargers can be at full strength, perhaps the winds will shift their way this next game. Now the Falcons are 17th in rushing offense, so middle of the pack, but have a good running back in Bijan Robinson, who in his second year has already reached a career-high in rushing touchdowns (six). The Chargers should be able to handle Robinson better than Henry but caution should be exercised and there are still Falcons wide receivers London and Mooney to consider.
5. Get The Offense Humming Again, Especially in the Second Half
After the first half on Monday night, as is typical of the Chargers, things fell apart. Despite the rushing touchdown from running back Gus Edwards in the last minute of the fourth, after running back J.K. Dobbins went out ahead of halftime with a knee injury, the run game disappeared. Besides a few very clutch receptions from wide receivers Joshua Palmer and Ladd McConnkey, as well as tight end Dissly, with the exception of a field goal, nothing materialized during that second half prior to that rushing touchdown.
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston had a very off night and looked a little like the Johnston of 2023 with a few dropped passes. The Chargers seemed to deflate without Dobbins and as he has an MCL sprain, the Chargers need to start carving out bigger roles for their other running backs like Edwards and either Hassan Haskins or Kimani Vidal, so they can keep that run game up with or without Dobbins. And Johnston and Herbert need to get on the same page. The Chargers cannot put the burden of the game on the defense as they’ll need all hands on deck for these next several games.