The Chargers look to bounce back from an opening week loss on Sunday, traveling to Tennessee to take on the Titans.
Here are four reasons LA should come away with a victory.
Rock bottom
It would be incredibly difficult for the Chargers to play worse on defense than in Week 1, no matter the opponent. Los Angeles allowed the most passing yards in franchise history against Tua Tagovailoa in a game rife with miscommunications and poor execution on defense.
Luckily, Sunday presents an ideal get-right scenario. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw three interceptions in Week 1 against the Saints and Tennessee only scored via the field goal. Tannehill also had a completion percentage under 50% and threw for just 198 yards. Derrick Henry had 63 yards rushing on 15 carries, a fine game but not of the caliber fans are used to from the superstar.
LA has also had the entire week to patch up what went wrong against the Dolphins. A good number of the explosive plays allowed by the Chargers last Sunday resulted from miscommunications causing busted coverages. With only one new starter on the defense, it’s certainly concerning that it happened so often. But that one new starter is linebacker Eric Kendricks, who also has the green dot on his helmet as the defensive play-caller. Another week of gelling with his new teammates should provide better results.
Pass game explosives
Tennessee allowed Saints quarterback Derek Carr to throw for 305 yards, allowing eight passes of 15 or more yards along the way. That number was tied for second-worst in the NFL last week. (You can guess who was the worst.)
There was plenty of frustration about Justin Herbert’s depth of target numbers against the Dolphins, especially after the preseason hype around Kellen Moore’s new offense. However, Herbert targeting the shallow and intermediate areas of the field had more to do with the Dolphins’ defense than the Chargers’ offense. Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio designs his scheme to prevent explosive passing plays, which also opened so many holes for LA on the ground last Sunday.
The explosive plays through the air will be there against other teams, especially with opposing defenses more attuned to the run game. Against Tennessee, there will likely be a fair share of fireworks.
Slow it down
Tennessee’s offense is built to be physical. It’s about as far as you can get from the track team Miami has assembled around Tua Tagovailoa.
This plays into how the Chargers want to play defense very well. JC Jackson and Michael Davis are physical press corners who are better when they can get their hands on matchups at the line of scrimmage. Kendricks and Kenneth Murray should have an easier time filling the middle of the field against slower-receiving targets.
The concern will be in the run game with Henry leading the charge, but the Chargers should have ample opportunities to shut down the Titans’ passing attack with a better stylistic matchup on Sunday. If they can accomplish that, there’s only so much damage Henry and rookie Tyjae Spears can do on the ground to keep up.
Key injuries
While the Chargers are dealing with an epidemic of hamstring injuries, especially in the front seven, the Titans will also potentially miss several key players on Sunday.
Starting safety Amani Hooker did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday due to a concussion in Week 1. Corner Kristian Fulton has also been limited with his own hamstring injury. Remember, the Titans gave up eight explosive pass plays, with both Hooker and Fulton participating for chunks of the game last week against Derek Carr. If one or both of them can’t go on Sunday, Tennessee could potentially be covering LA’s receivers from a position of weakness.
On offense, the Titans will potentially be without DeAndre Hopkins, who missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday with an ankle injury. Hopkins led Tennessee in targets (13), receptions (7), and yards (65) last week, so his absence will be felt strongly if he can’t go. The Titans’ next most effective weapon was slot receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, with 58 yards on four receptions. With all due respect to Westbrook-Ikhine, he’s not the kind of threat Hopkins is. If he and Treylon Burks are the best the Titans can muster, LA should have a legitimate chance to bounce back as a pass defense.
