5 Takeaways From Chargers' 37-23 Week 7 Loss to Seahawks

What are the main takeaways we learned from the Chargers' Week 7 loss to the Seahawks?

Author:
Nicholas Cothrel
Publish date:
Oct 24, 2022 12:53 PM EDT

In this story:

The Chargers were beat 37-23 by the Seahawks in convincing fashion Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium to fall to a 4-3 record.

Here are five takeaways from the Chargers' third loss of the season:

Slow starts are becoming a common theme

Sunday marked the third consecutive week the Chargers had fallen behind by double-digit points in the first quarter. After being down 17-0 at one point, the Chargers had cut into the deficit to pull within three points, but that was the closest they'd get in overcoming the Seahawks' lead.

"You're not going to win many games going down 17-0," running back Austin Ekeler said after the team's loss.

Initially, the Chargers showed hope of putting together a better start than the previous two weeks when linebacker Kenneth Murray intercepted Geno Smith on the fourth play of the game. But on the Seahawks' next three series, they finished drives that ended in two touchdowns and one field goal.

"Certainly not the way that you want to start the football game," Staley said. "That definitely wasn't our goal today. We started off the game, defensively, with a big takeaway, and then we turned the ball over on downs on a third-and-fourth-and-short."

As Seattle strung together drives to pad their early lead, Justin Herbert was intercepted and strip-sacked that resulted in losing the loose ball on consecutive possessions.

“We can continue to try and execute, get the ball moving early in the first quarter," Herbert said on avoiding early deficits. "Just get the ball to those guys on the outside to make plays and just stay ahead of the chains.”

Injuries continue to grow

As if the Chargers injuries weren’t already substantial in size, the list continued to grow in Week 7.

Cornerback J.C. Jackson suffered a non-contact knee injury that led to him being carted off after receiving an air cast placed on his right leg.

“It was sad because I was right beside it,” safety Derwin James said. “I was running to the ball, trying to go over there. I seen it, like, I was the closest person to it. It’s sad. Wish nothing but prayers and for him to be healthy.”

Chargers coach Brandon Staley called Jackson's injury a "significant" one but didn’t have details on the severity after the game. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Sunday night that Jackson dislocated his kneecap and will get an MRI done to determine the damage that occurred during the separation.

Wide receiver Mike Williams also suffered an injury that knocked him out of the game in the fourth quarter. Williams had a defender awkwardly land on him, tweaking his ankle.

During Staley's postgame press conference, he said the team wasn’t yet aware of the severity of Williams' injury. However, after the game in the locker room, Williams couldn’t put any weight on it as he walked with assistance from the medical staff

Outside linebacker Chris Rumph also suffered a knee and hip injury during a play on special teams, but Staley said it's not expected to be "severe in nature.”

"It’s just part of the NFL. We have to deal with it just like everybody else does," Staley said of the team's injuries. "We make no excuses. Whoever is out there is going to play to our standard. We need to make sure that we use the next two weeks to get the right combination of guys out there. We know that we have a team that is resilient. I think that we’ve shown that through seven games."

Chargers can't spark run game

The Seahawks entered the game as the 31st-ranked team against the run, and yet the Chargers couldn’t get the ground game going.

"We struggled running the ball and I think that really hurt us," Ekeler said. "It made us pretty predictable in the 2nd-and-long and 3rd-and-long scenarios where it's an obvious passing down. I think us being one dimensional really had a domino effect down the road, ending up hurting us."

The Chargers ran the ball 15 times for 53 yards, while dropping back for 51 passes. Perhaps they got pass-reliant when they began trailing by multiple possessions. But even with the game close in the first half with plenty of time left, there didn’t appear to be a large emphasis on establishing a run game to build off of.

"It's hard to win games when you have to pass it every down so it'll definitely be an emphasis that we'll come together in the bye week to make sure that we're all on the same page and feel good about the plan," Ekeler said. "But regardless of what the plan is, we still have to go out and execute it as players."

Chargers run defense gets roughed up

The Chargers allowed 214 rushing yards to the Seahawks, the most they've given up in a single game this season. They've also been vulnerable to giving up the big run, and the Seahawks did that midway through the fourth quarter to put the game on ice when Kenneth Walker ripped off a 74-yard touchdown.

Now seven games in the books, the Chargers rank 26th against the run, allowing 138 rushing yards per game.

“I think that we’re going to take a long look at that in the bye week," Staley said of the inconsistencies on defense. "What I’ve said throughout the season is just establishing continuity with who we’re playing with. I think that is going to be something that I take a look at over the next two weeks before we play Atlanta, just getting the right combination of players out there, playing the right combination of play calls, because I think that there have been a lot of good moments from us, but our bad moments have been really bad. We have to make sure that that doesn’t happen because it’s preventing us from being the defense that we’re capable of being.”

The Chargers put a lot into retooling their defense this offseason, including three new starters across the defensive line. There's no disputing that they've improved from where they were a season ago, but it still remains quite alarming that things haven’t fully clicked after everything they've allocated into the unit.

Keenan Allen's return didn’t have much to offer

After missing the last six games with a hamstring injury suffered in the season opener, Keenan Allen returned to action in Week 7. Allen was on a snap-count he said after the game, leading to him not playing in the second half.

"I was good. Pitch count," Allen said on what held him out of the final two quarters. "Just easing back into things."

Allen finished the game with two grabs for 11 yards, one of which came on a third down to move the team inside the red zone.

“He felt good during practice and we wanted to give it a go," Staley said of Allen. "He was definitely on a pitch count, but didn’t want to push it knowing that we have the bye next week.”

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