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Kris Rhim, ESPNNov 30, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
LOS ANGELES — The script has been the same for the Los Angeles Chargers this season.
L.A. appears dominant early in games: the offense moving with ease and the defense making stops. Take the Chargers’ most recent game against the Ravens, for example. The Chargers jumped out to a 10-0 lead, quarterback Justin Herbert ran around SoFi Stadium with the football to roars after a touchdown celebration and the defense kept the league’s best offense in check.
The Chargers got points on three of their five first-half drives to go into halftime down 14-13. It was an encouraging start.
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Then, in the second half, the Chargers offense disappeared, a drop-off that has become routine. The Chargers were outscored 16-3 in the second half of Monday’s loss to the Ravens before a rushing touchdown by running back Gus Edwards in garbage time made the game look closer than it actually was at 30-23.
“It’s an unfortunate ending,” Herbert said. “We wanted to score more points, but we didn’t do that. You’ve got to take a look back at getting those opportunities in the red zone and making sure that we’re converting on third down.”
In many ways, the second half against the Ravens was one that the Chargers had played all season. They were able to overcome these struggles during their four-game win streak against weaker opponents, but it didn’t work against Baltimore.
In the second half of games this season, the Chargers rank 31st in yards per game (134.4), 30th in points per game (8.4) and opponent yards per game (199.4), and 28th in time of possession (13:48).
It’s a far cry from how dominant they’ve been in the first half this season. The Lions (+121) are the only team with a better point differential in the first half. The Chargers rank in the top five in point differential (+88), opponent points per game (5.7), opponent yards per game (124.3) and time of possession (16:45). They are eighth in points per game and ninth in yards per game.
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From Week 2 to Week 6, the Chargers didn’t score a touchdown in the second half. The five-game stretch without a score was the longest streak since the Ravens’ from Weeks 14-18 in 2022, when Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman was Baltimore’s OC. Roman resigned after that season.
“I think there’s been some amazing halves of football and some that we’d like to have back,” Roman said. “But guys are working really hard at it and it’s hard in the NFL … it’s just something we’re chasing,”
In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Chargers had a similar second-half disappearing act in front of a national audience. After jumping out to a 24-6 first-half lead, the Chargers were outscored 21-3 in the second half before the offense took the field with 45 seconds left. The offense punted on six of their eight second-half drives and fumbled on another.
A late touchdown by running back J.K. Dobbins sealed the game and saved the Chargers from an embarrassing loss. But there were no saviors against the Ravens. Dobbins left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury, and receivers dropped a season-high four passes against the Ravens.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense struggled to capitalize on a strong beginning against Baltimore. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
After the loss, Herbert — who entered the week with the third-best QBR in the NFL in the first half this season compared to 29th in the second half — said he disagreed with the notion that the Chargers have been a poor second-half team.
“We’ve shown capable of going out there and scoring in the second half,” Herbert said. “It’s obviously a tough game and we’d love to score more points. We’ve just got to keep executing and do everything we can. I thought we did a good job moving the ball.”
The Chargers do have games where their second-half performance has matched the first — or exceeded it.
Against the Tennessee Titans, for example, they played perhaps their best game of the season, scoring two touchdowns in the second half in a dominant win. Or in Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints, when the Chargers scored 17 points in the second half of that win.
But those performances have been anomalies. The Chargers have consistently been one of the NFL’s best teams for the first 30 minutes of games this season and one of the worst for the last 30 minutes.
As they look to return to the playoffs as genuine contenders this season, their second halves could be what holds them back.
