Our defense vs their offense: Los Angeles Chargers
The New Orleans Saints will travel to LA to face off with the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday afternoon. Under new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers have started to find their identity on offense, which is running the football. The Chargers currently rank 26th in the league in pass play percentage, throwing the football about 51% of the time.
This new-look Chargers offense will take on a Saints defense that has really struggled the last few weeks. In their last four games, the Saints have given up 26, 26, 33 and 51 points to their opponents for an average of 34 points per game, which would rank 31st in the league above only the Panthers.
Through six games, the Chargers have run the ball better than they have in the last few years. Theyâve amassed 698 rushing yards (116.3 per game) behind a 4.0 average. Surprisingly, theyâve only scored three touchdowns on the ground, though.
JK Dobbins made the move to LA after multiple season-ending injuries in Baltimore, and heâs looked great so far. Despite playing one less game than most other backs, his 478 yards ranks 8th in the NFL and his 5.0 average ranks 12th among qualified RBs. Heâs been a spark plug for this Chargers offense this season and is a big reason theyâve found a lot of success on the ground.
As for the Saints defense, they have gone back to their roots and have been quite horrible in the run game. They rank 29th in run defense, giving up 146.7 yards per game on the ground, but over their last three games, that number jumps to 213 yards per game. That is just bad, undisciplined football right there.
While the Chargers have been pretty solid on the ground, their passing game has been another story. Despite having one of the best young QBs in the game in Justin Herbert, they are averaging just 183 yards per game. They lack weapons at the receiver position – rookie Lad McConkey leads the team with 265 yards – which has really hindered them through the air.
Luckily for them, they get a Saints defense that is bottom-5 in the league in passing yards allowed per game (248). The Saints secondary, which looked so good early in the year, has really fallen off the past few weeks and have given up big play after big play through the air. I think theyâll be better than normal this week against the Chargers, but Iâm sure weâll see some explosive plays given up as well.
The Chargers have done a pretty good job of keeping Herbertâs jersey clean this year. Theyâre giving up 2.5 sacks per game, which is right around the league average, and this week they get a Saints team that is averaging one sack per game over their last three matchups. Chase Young, Carl Granderson, Cam Jordan and Co. have been unable to get after the QB recently, which has caused a lot of their issues in the pass game.
I would say this is a pretty good matchup for the Saints because the Chargers donât have that great of an offense, but neither did the Denver Broncos until they scored 33 on the Saints in the Superdome. Until the Saints defense does anything to show us otherwise, Iâm going to assume that the Chargers will have their way with Dennis Allenâs unit.
Make sure you follow Canal Street Chronicles on Twitter at @SaintsCSC, âLikeâ us on Facebook at Canal Street Chronicles, and make sure youâre subscribed to our new YouTube channel
