Sports

Chargers rally, escape with 19-16 overtime win over Broncos

Written by ABC AUDIO on October 18, 2022

INGLEWOOD, California — The Los Angeles Chargers’ sideline erupted in jubilation following two special plays by a history-plagued special teams unit.

With 4:58 remaining in overtime, the Bolts recovered a muffed punt on the Denver Broncos’ 28-yard line. Then, four plays later, kicker Dustin Hopkins — playing through a right hamstring injury — knocked down a 39-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 19-16 win at SoFi Stadium.

With the win, the Bolts improve to 4-2 — keeping them in the thick of the race for the AFC West, while proving that they can come up clutch.

Last Sunday, the Chargers were gifted a victory from the Cleveland Browns when kicker Cade York missed a potential game-winning 54-yard field goal.

On Monday Night Football, the Chargers left no doubt that they could win on their terms.

Los Angeles Chargers
QB breakdown: Justin Herbert and the Bolts’ offense struggled to find a rhythm against a fast and physical defense. Herbert completed 37 of 57 passes for 238 yards with an interception.

Through regulation, Herbert averaged 2.2 air yards on his completions, below his previous career low of 2.7.

Cornerback Pat Surtain II effectively eliminated go-to target wide receiver Mike Williams, who finished with two catches for 17 yards — including a clutch 9-yard reception in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal.

Herbert’s lone touchdown drive came in the first quarter, when he put together a seven-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in Austin Ekeler rushing 6 yards for a score to put the Bolts on the board, 10-7.

In the fourth quarter, on first-and-10 from his own 17-yard line, Herbert had a pass intercepted that was intended for Gerald Everett — his second interception of the season when targeting his new tight end.

Herbert, who was sacked twice, is continuing to play through fractured rib cartilage, about which he said earlier this week, “I think it’s getting better. I think time is probably the best help.”

Troubling trend: Cornerback J.C. Jackson not playing to standard after signing a five-year, $82.5 million contract in free agency.

Jackson could only watch, on an apparent blown assignment, as tight end Greg Dulcich sprinted by for a 39-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter to give the Broncos a 10-0 lead. A fifth-year pro, Jackson played four seasons in New England, where he led the NFL in interceptions (25) since 2018.

Jackson awaits his first pick as a Charger, and it’s unclear exactly what has caused his slow start to the season, whether it’s learning a new scheme or coming back from ankle surgery performed in late August.

Buy on a breakout performance: After spending most of the 2021 season on the sideline following ankle surgery, edge rusher Khalil Mack is proving in his ninth NFL season that he has plenty remaining in the tank.

Mack acknowledged entering Monday night that it is no fun chasing around Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, yet he kept constant pressure on Wilson, sacking him once, and also batted down a pass.

Mack ranks second in the NFL, tied with six other players, with six sacks. The Chargers sacked Wilson four times. — Lindsey Thiry

Underrated statistic to know: Herbert threw zero touchdowns on 57 passes Monday. It’s the second time this season a player threw at least 57 passes without a touchdown (Kyler Murray).

Next game: vs. Seahawks (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday)

Denver Broncos
One of Denver Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett’s biggest items on the to-do list when he took the job was to improve the Broncos’ dismal performance in the AFC West, especially on the road in the division.

The Broncos stumbled into SoFi Stadium Monday night 2-11 in their past 13 division games dating back to the start of the 2020 season, 0-7 on the road with a loss in Las Vegas already on this season’s docket. So, add another on the growing pile as their offense shut it down in the second half — again — and rookie Montrell Washington muffed a punt at the Broncos’ 28-yard line with 4 minutes, 46 seconds to play in overtime to help set up a 19-16 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

It all had a familiar ring for the Broncos, who had a 10-0 lead in the first quarter before their still-struggling offense essentially called it a night. A team that has scored all of five points in the third quarter this season — two of those on a safety by the defense earlier this year — was shut out in the third again as the Broncos had only 19 yards of offense.

The Chargers simply pushed back against a battered Broncos offensive line for much of the second half — left tackle Garett Bolles will miss the rest of the season after he fractured his right fibula in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts — to keep Russell Wilson out of sync.

The Denver defense slugged it out enough to get to overtime, but all the work the Broncos said they did on offense during the 11 days between their Thursday night loss to the Colts and Monday’s to the Chargers certainly did not show.

Troubling trend: Rookie cornerback Damarri Mathis got a preview of what the remainder of the season could look like for him. Mathis, who is in the lineup due to the season-ending knee injury to Ronald Darby, was targeted by Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert on the game’s first play from scrimmage — Mathis was called for pass interference — and the Chargers didn’t let up.

Mathis had three pass interference penalties in the first half alone that accounted for 81 yards, four in the game. Whenever Herbert faced even a minimal stress situation he sent the ball Mathis’ way. The rookie better get used to it and respond because the moment any of the Broncos’ future opponents look at what the Chargers did Monday night, they’ll believe they can make it work as well.

Mathis showed some resiliency with a key fourth-down pass breakup to open the fourth quarter, but the play was yet another indicator that it will not be a relaxing ride for him in the coming weeks.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Hackett has spent plenty of time since he got the job talking about how important the run game is, and will be, in the team’s offense.

And then, as the team struggles along the learning curve, when it has the ball the run game is ornamental at best. Granted, the season-ending injury Javonte Williams suffered in the loss to the Raiders will impact the Broncos’ plan, but they ran the ball just seven times in the first half versus the Chargers, and one of those was a Wilson scramble.

This has led at times to short possessions in which the Broncos use up just over a minute on an ill-timed three-and-out before sending their defense back on the field. And the team’s continued struggles on first down — Denver faced second-and-18, second-and-12 and second-and-9 in the first half alone — have pushed the Broncos away from a run game they need to be bigger part of what they’re doing.

All you have to see is on third-and-1, in their first possession of overtime, Wilson was in the shotgun as he threw an incompletion under heavy pressure from a Chargers pass rush with no reason to slow down.

QB breakdown: Wilson hit his first 10 pass attempts Monday night and looked far more comfortable overall. But without the benefit of much play-action in the Broncos’ offense and amid an ongoing disconnect with wide receiver Jerry Jeudy that seems to appear with regularity, Wilson completed only three of his next 11 passes.

He completed passes to nine different receivers, including the first touchdown for rookie tight end Greg Dulcich. The first-down woes, however, continue to disrupt the tempo of things, and so while Wilson was better in the first half Monday, there is still plenty of work to be done. — Jeff Legwold

Underrated statistic to know: Wilson started the game completing his first nine attempts to nine different pass-catchers. According to Elias, no QB dating back to 1978 started a game 9-for-9 to nine different players.

Cardinals trade for Panthers’ Robbie Anderson after Marquise Brown hurt

The Arizona Cardinals acquired wide receiver Robbie Anderson on Monday, a day after wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown suffered a foot injury that will sideline him indefinitely.

Brown suffered a potentially season-ending injury in Arizona’s 19-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Brown, who told reporters Sunday that X-rays on his foot were negative, underwent further testing Monday to determine the extent of the injury and will get a second opinion, a source told Schefter. Whether he can return this season will depend on the second opinion and his recovery, the source said.

Brown, who was acquired by the Cardinals from the Baltimore Ravens during this year’s NFL draft, has 43 receptions for 485 yards and three touchdowns in six games this season.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury said he believes trading for Anderson was a direct result of Brown’s injury.

“Had an opportunity to get a guy that brings some speed and that dynamic that Hollywood has,” Kingsbury said. “So, we’ll kind of see where he fits in, and just for the long term, with guys getting hurt, we need some more wideouts in here.”

Kingsbury said he wasn’t sure Monday how Anderson will fit into the Cardinals’ offense, but the ex-Panthers wideout and Brown are similar. Since 2019, Brown ran vertical routes on 39% of his snaps and Anderson ran them on 38%, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Anderson lined up wide on 72% of his snaps since 2019, and Brown lined up wide on 71% of his.

And their production was quite similar, as well: Brown has 25 more catches and 246 more receiving yards than Anderson, but both averaged 11.46 air yards per target.

“Just watching him over the years and studying his tape, he’s got a skill set that seems to be similar and he can really run, which we need that,” Kingsbury said of Anderson.

Brown’s injury wasn’t the only major one suffered by a Cardinals starter Sunday. Left guard Justin Pugh will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, a source told ESPN. Pugh started all five of the games he played this season after restructuring the final year of his contract to return for the 2022 season. Pugh contemplated retirement after the season, but the former first-round pick out of Syracuse was given an opportunity to return for a 10th season and worked to get back in football shape.

The Anderson trade comes a day after he was kicked out of a game by Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks following sideline arguments with his position coach. Kingsbury, however, said Anderson’s confrontation did not affect the trade in any way.

Anderson didn’t have a catch Sunday. He entered the game with 13 catches for 206 yards — 75 of them on a touchdown in the opener against the Cleveland Browns on a pass from Baker Mayfield.

The Cardinals will take on Anderson’s $575,000 salary for the rest of the year, while the Panthers — who restructured his contract in March — will take a $20 million dead-cap hit spread across this season and next.

Cardinals wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson previously coached Anderson with the Jets. Their shared history was a point in favor of the trade.

“That played a role in it, there’s no question,” Kingsbury said. “Just having that insight and the success he had with Coach Jefferson as his coach, we felt really good about that relationship and what it could be here.”

Anderson joins a Cardinals team that fell to 2-4 with its loss Sunday. Star receiver DeAndre Hopkins is scheduled to return from a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs this week, and the team’s offense has struggled without him.

Hopkins, who hasn’t played since Week 14 of last season, when he suffered a knee injury, does not want to be on a snap count, but that hasn’t been ruled out.

“We’ll see how he’s going,” Kingsbury said. “But I know he’s anxious. He was up here today asking for the game plan and excited to get out there.”

The nine points the Cardinals scored Sunday were tied for the second fewest under Kingsbury. The Cardinals have yet to score 30 points this season and have reached 400 yards in a game just once. Quarterback Kyler Murray said after the game Sunday that Arizona’s offense hasn’t been this bad since his rookie year.

Kingsbury currently calls the plays on offense but said Monday he’d be open to changing that in order to win.

“You know, I’m open to anything that helps us win and score more points,” he said. “So we’re going to see where everything goes. But yeah, whatever it takes to win. I’m all for it.”

The Cardinals released kicker Matt Ammendola on Monday. He played the past two games in place of Matt Prater, who has been dealing with a hip injury. Ammendola missed a game-tying field goal in a Week 5 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and then missed an extra point Sunday.

Kingsbury opted to go for it on fourth down three times in field goal range in Seattle instead of taking the points, but the Cardinals failed to convert all three. But Kingsbury said Monday he didn’t lose faith in Ammendola.

“I think it’s having faith in your offense more than anything,” Kingsbury said. “Matt Prater is one of the best in NFL history. So, that’s kind of a different level, but the opportunities we had offensively I thought were there and weren’t able to make them at the time, but it was more that than any lack of faith.

“It was a Prater deal. Like we feel like he’s pretty much automatic and that’s a good luxury to have. When you don’t have it, it’s a little bit different.”

Prater’s status for Thursday night’s game against the Saints is undetermined, but Kingsbury said the Cardinals will bring in kickers to try out Monday and Tuesday.

Tua Tagovailoa preparing as Dolphins’ starter vs. Steelers

MIAMI — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will prepare this week as the team’s starter for Sunday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday, marking his return to the football field after spending the past two weeks in concussion protocol.

Tagovailoa began football activities last week and cleared concussion protocol Saturday but was inactive for the Dolphins’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6. McDaniel said he felt “really good” about getting Tagovailoa back on the practice field and liked how he responded. This will mark his first full week of practice since Week 3, and McDaniel said the impact of his return to the lineup is palpable.

“He’s a captain. He’s a captain for a reason, and as I’ve told you guys from the onset, I think he’s a very, very good player at that position,” McDaniel said. “So very good players, they definitely give people a boost — not because of what other people aren’t but more just because he is who he is. So he’s a strong fabric of this team, and that’s exciting when you get to go play with one of your brothers, which is why the team will be excited, and it will be exciting.”

Tagovailoa hasn’t played since Miami’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 29, when he sustained a concussion that resulted in a brief hospitalization after hitting his head on the ground. The play occurred four days after a similar incident against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 25, when Tagovailoa hit his head on the ground and stumbled while trying to return to the huddle.

He was evaluated for a concussion at halftime of that Bills game but passed his examination. Both Tagovailoa and the team later said it was a previously sustained back injury that caused the stumble. However, the incident led the NFL and NFL Players Association to review the application of the concussion protocol and implement an amendment.

The Dolphins lost both games Tagovailoa missed, bringing their record to 3-3 after starting the season with three straight wins. At the time of his injury, Tagovailoa led the NFL in QBR and ranked second in passing yards and third in passing touchdowns. He was named the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week in Week 2 after throwing for 469 yards and 6 touchdowns — both career-highs — in a comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens.

McDaniel said he’s spoken with Tagovailoa about finding the balance between fighting to keep a play alive and learning when to accept that a given play is not going to work.

“There’s risks in this game and you’ve got to be able to control the controllables,” McDaniel said. “One thing for him is you love his competitive nature, but there is a time in a play where you have to kind of concede, and that’s where he’s kind of been focusing on because it’s something that’s not natural to him. He wants to break every tackle, and he doesn’t like when plays don’t work. Well, sometimes they won’t.

“So that’s something that he’s mindful of, and I think that that’s a consistency of all the really great quarterbacks that you think of, the guys that you look up to, the guys that kind of set forth the example of how to play the position, they do find ways to be available. And part of that is that concession, but that is — all things considered, that’s probably a good problem to have in terms of a competitor. You just need to be able to understand your importance to the team and how sometimes the best play you can make is a throwaway.”

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Miami’s offense has seen a sharp decline without Tagovailoa on the field. Through the first three weeks of the season, the Dolphins ranked first and second in the league in points per drive and offensive expected points added, respectively. In the time since, they’ve fallen to 28th in offensive EPA and 29th in points per drive.

Both Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson started games in place of Tagovailoa but both were forced out of their lone starts due to concussion protocol and a thumb injury, respectively. Dolphins offensive lineman Robert Hunt said after Sunday’s game that injuries are “part of the business” of the NFL, and added Monday that while getting Tagovailoa back would be galvanizing, they have a job to do no matter who is at quarterback.

“Tua is Tua — Tua is our leader,” Hunt said. “He’s the guy who has been running the show and we’ll be excited to get him back. But exactly what you said — if not and it’s somebody else back there, we still got to do our job and try to play a game and win a game.”

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Chargers rally, escape with 19-16 overtime win over Broncos

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Chargers rally, escape with 19-16 overtime win over Broncos

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