Best and worst Chargers PFF grades vs. the Cardinals - Bolts From The Blue
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Khalil Mack and Justin Herbert led the way for the Chargers in their score-less outing against the Cardinals.
The Chargers had their worst day defensive under first-year coordinator Jesse Minter. The tackling was the worst we’ve seen this season and when the Bolts needed a stop the most, they could not find one. They took the ball away once, but gave it right back.
The best of the Chargers played like it. It was another classic hero game from Justin Herbert. But zero touchdowns scored is a quick way to find yourself on the wrong end of the scoreboard, no matter how many yards you throw for.
This one will hurt. I’m sure the entire franchise lost sleep over this one. Time to move on and pivot their focus to the Saints coming to town this weekend.
Let’s go ahead and dive in to see if there’s anything of note the team could hang a hat on.
Best (min. 20 snaps played)
QB Justin Herbert - 89.7WR Josh Palmer - 80.3OT Joe Alt - 76.2TE Will Dissly - 74.6OG Zion Johnson - 71.6
It was a miraculous game from Herbert while throwing to a makeshift skill group. No surprise here that he was the top player on offense.
Palmer showed the kind of talent that led many to believe he was going to be the team’s bonafide WR1 entering the 2024 season. He made tough catches that were crucial in giving the Chargers the chance to win on Monday night.
Every member of the Chargers offensive line gave up multiple pressures to the Cardinals, but Alt managed to stay at the top of the group with a run and pass block grade each above 70.0, including a run block grade of 87.6.
Worst
TE Eric Tomlinson - 45.8WR Ladd McConkey - 47.9OG Trey Pipkins - 56.2OT Rashawn Slater - 59.3C Bradley Bozeman - 61.0
Pipkins was the only Chargers player credited with allowing a sack against the Cardinals. Slater had the lowest run block grade for the Chargers at 39.2 while Bozeman had the lowest pass block grade at 28.2.
McConkey caught five of his seven targets, but the two he did not were recorded as drops. That led the team against the Cardinals. This was by far the rookie’s worst game grade of the season.
Best
EDGE Khalil Mack - 92.1LB Denzel Perryman - 76.4DT Poona Ford - 72.2S Derwin James - 72.0DT Otito Ogbonnia - 70.3
What else is new? Mack was the team’s top defender with another elite game grade. Despite not recording a sack, he also posted an elite pass rush grade of 91.9 and led the team with four pressures.
Ford’s run defense grade of 72.4 was second on the team behind Mack’s 76.2.
Derwin James led all players in coverage grade at 72.3. He allowed one completion on one target for one yard.
Despite the overall team performance in that area, Ogbonnia bounced back with a strong game against the run where he graded at 72.0.
Worst
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu - 29.0LB Junior Colson - 29.2S Alohi Gilman - 35.7EDGE Bud Dupree - 43.1CB Cam Hart - 44.3
This was arguably the worst tackling game in recent memory for the Chargers.
Tuipulotu missed four tackles on five attempts. That’s a quick 80 percent missed tackle rate. Colson was right there with him near the bottom but his overall grade was sunk by a 29.6 in coverage. He allowed two receptions on two targets for 26 yards. He also took a bad angle on the Kyler Murray touchdown scramble.
Gilman was one of five Chargers who ended the day with a tackling grade below 30.0. He missed three tackles and had the second-worst run defense grade on Monday night. Cam Hart’s night looked rather solid, but he allowed four receptions on seven targets for 44 yards with 22 yards coming after the catch.
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