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This most disjointed of Chargers seasons continued Sunday when the defense found itself but the offense lost the ball.
Over and over and over and over.
After dominating the takeaway battle for much of the year, the Chargers had all four of the game’s turnovers in a 20-10 loss to Baltimore at SoFi Stadium.
Against the top team in the AFC, the sputtering Chargers produced a performance that was spirited and encouraging but ultimately not enough — again — as they lost their third in a row to fall to 4-7.
“We hung tough,” coach Brandon Staley said. “I love that about our guys. We were in it until the end. But that’s not the way you need to play in the big game.”
The Chargers’ already dim playoff hopes lost even more light as they were limited to their lowest point total since a 38-10 loss to Jacksonville in Week 3 of last season.
The Ravens defense kept Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) on the run. (Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
They remain at the bottom of the AFC West and are even in second place in their city, falling a game behind the Rams.
But unlike their SoFi Stadium roommates, the Chargers were forecast to be postseason contenders. Instead, they continued their season-long trend of being unable to seize late, game-deciding moments.
This time, the Chargers failed after taking over at their 34-yard line and trailing 13-10 with just under three minutes to go.
“That’s where our season’s been,” Staley said. “It’s been tight, and we just haven’t been able to finish some of these games.”
Justin Herbert did pick up one first down, hitting little-used wide receiver Alex Erickson for a 17-yard gain.
But two incompletions and a short pick-up made it fourth-and-six at the Baltimore 46-yard line. The Ravens brought a blitz, forcing another incompletion and an intentional-grounding penalty.
“We just didn’t pick it up well enough and make the right timing with the route and the quarterback,” Staley said. “Credit to Baltimore. They…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/improved-chargers-another-way-lose-044652610.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2023-11-27 04:46:52
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