The Los Angeles Chargers are 5-3 entering their Week 10 matchup against Tennessee on Sunday inside SoFi Stadium.
A big part to their success this season has been their defense, led by new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
“It’s huge,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said of Minter’s integral role. “The coordination of it. The play caller’s ability to call the right play at the right time. The coordinator’s ability to construct and architect the system, build it for the players to be successful, and have the player’s buy-in. ”
Here is a breakdown of how the Chargers have had a successful defense as the halfway point to the season arrives.
An overall look to the Chargers defensive success
By allowing 101 points through nine weeks, the Chargers have allowed just 12.6 points per game, which are both the fewest marks in the NFL.
This comes after the Chargers allowed 23.4 points last year, which ranked 23rd in the league.
The Chargers also rank seventh with nine interceptions and eighth in both total yards per game (303.8) and rushing yards per game (107.9).
Los Angeles also ranks 11th in both total takeaways (13) and passing yards per game (195.9).
As a result, the defense has been playing well against altogether, which is huge in wanting to bring postseason football back to the Bolts.
Minter said the success of the defense is not only from the new voices but also the mainstays that have been here and continue to have that desire to win.
“The thing here is that there were already a bunch of really good players here,” Minter said. “Maybe a good situation because there was a hunger to be really good. So, to the players’ credit, they jumped in right from the start. Anything coach said anything we said, they were pretty much on board with it and willing to roll with it.”
This also comes as The Athletic’s Mike Sando named Minter as the ‘clear choice’ for the top defensive assistant in the NFL at the season’s midway point.
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Los Angeles Chargers D-Line Success
A couple of those mainstays have been on the edges to the defensive line in both Kahlil Mack and Joey Bosa.
According to Pro Football Pocus, Mack has the third-best defensive grade at 91.8. He is also second with a 92.1 run defense grade.
Although Mack has played just 71% of snaps, which is the lowest mark in his career when playing a full season, he is just as productive when playing at or near 90% of snaps when he was playing at an All-Pro level.
Mack, who’s been a Pro Bowler eight of the last nine years, has 4.5 sacks, five pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.
“He’s detail-oriented and you can see how we chop up the days throughout the week and how he explains the teams and how they want to attack us,” Mack said of Minter’s coaching style. “It’s just getting the group understanding of how we want to play team defenses week to week. I feel like he simplifies for us so we can go and fly around on Sundays.”
Edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu has also made a big difference this year on the defensive end. Tuipulotu, who has started the last five games, has 3.5 sacks, which have all come in his last two games. He had the team’s best PFF grade in the Los Angeles Chargers victory over the Saints at 86.4.
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Los Angeles Chargers linebackers and secondary shine, led by Derwin James Jr.
Over the last few years, the Los Angeles Chargers have brought in defensive pieces, whether it is through the draft, trade, or free agency, but it has not quite clicked. Until now.
Thus far through eight games, the defense has clicked even with the returning players and not only the new faces. Whether it is safeties Derwin James and Alohi Gilman or the return of linebacker Denzel Perryman, Minter has found the key to get things rolling to be one of the best defenses in the NFL.
“Why are we showing up every day if we’re not going to put our best foot forward,” James Jr. said of the team’s defensive mentality. “Guys are putting in the work every day, Coach is giving the game plan, so we didn’t come here to waste time. We want to come out, do our best and execute.”
Chargers third-year cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor has made a huge impact this year, especially in the team’s 26-8 win against New Orleans a couple of weeks ago. Taylor faced 25 snaps in coverage and did not allow a single completion with two forced incompletions. That earned him an allowed passer rating of 39.2 and an 88.8 coverage grade, the latter of which was the second-best mark among cornerbacks.
Even some of the new players have already started to emerge.
Elijah Molden, who came to Los Angeles this season after spending the last three against the Titans, has three interceptions, tied for the sixth-best mark.
Rookie Tarheeb Still, who was drafted by the Bolts in the fifth round this past April, recorded his first NFL interception in last week’s victory in Cleveland. In addition, Still had a 79.4 PFF grade, which was the fourth-best mark by a cornerback last week with two forced incompletions and a 30.2 passer rating allowed.
Still and fellow rookie cornerback Cam Hunt also rank inside the top 20 in the NFL in true separation prevention.
Linebacker Daiyan Henley, a third-round pick by the Chargers two drafts ago in 2023, has also been impressive this year. He leads the team with 68 total tackles, tied for 16th in the league.
In addition, Henley has also been a force in the ground attack with four run stops against Cleveland, which tied for second in the NFL last week.
As a result, everybody on the defense is doing their part to have a successful defensive front on all three levels.
“I feel like everybody knows their role, everybody knows their part, you can count on your teammate,” James Jr. said. “When the D-Line goes up there, they tell what they’re going to bring to the table. When the DBs goes up there, we’re going to tell what we’re going to bring, so everybody makes sure we’re all on the same page before it’s time to go play.”
That is why the Chargers have the best PFF defensive grade (86.1), the second-best PFF coverage grade (90.1), and the fourth-best run defense grade (74.8).
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