INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Zing!
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley pumped his fist as his quarterback, Justin Herbert, tossed yet another dart, this one a 9-backyard conclusion on an out path that zipped past the ear of Miami Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou to receiver Keenan Allen for a vital veryfirst down with 10: 05 left in the 4th quarter.
Allen pointed to Herbert after the play. Herbert enthusiastically pointed back.
“The pass was incredible,” Allen stated. “Just being on the verysame page on 3rd down, when we had to have it. And simply having that trust. He was able to toss a laser.”
The excellent toss was a prime example of the accuracy precision that Herbert put on screen all night.
The much-hyped shootout inbetween Herbert and 2020 draft schoolmate Tua Tagovailoa neverever actually emerged on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. While Herbert sizzled, Tagovailoa and the Miami offense carriedout like they were stuck in mud most of the night.
The outcome was an essential, 23-17 triumph for the Bolts, keeping them in the postseason discussion by enhancing to 7-6 ingeneral.
With the loss, the Dolphins dropped their 2nd videogame in a row, falling to 8-5 on the year.
Herbert completed 39-of-51 for 367 lawns and a goal, publishing a 102.2 passer ranking. He finished passes to 9 various receivers.
Meanwhile, Tagovailoa hadahardtime with precision for a 2nd straight week, finishing simply 10-of-28 passes for 145 lawns. The NFL leader in passer score gettingin Sunday’s contest, Tagovailoa published a 65.3 passer score.
Herbert got a videogame ball later from Staley. He minimized the match with Tagovailoa most of the week leading up to Sunday’s contest and loaded applauded on his colleagues for the huge win.
“We’ve got a lot of regard for Tua,” Herbert stated. “He’s an unbelievable quarterback. He’s made some huge plays this year. I believe it’s simply a credit to our defense for the week of preparation they put in together.”
With his effort, Herbert (13,056) passed Andrew Luck (12,957) for the most passing backyards through the veryfirst 3 NFL seasons in league history. While Herbert stayed unwilling to puff his chest, his colleagues did the talking.
“He’s the X-factor,” receiver Mike Williams stated. “Obviously, he’s been doing that giventhat he’s been here. Everybody understands what type of gamer he is. He thinks in this group, and we’ve simply got to continue to follow him.”
Added Allen: “He’s simply beginning. He’s about to blow this league away.”
L.A.’s top 3 receivers in Josh Palmer, Allen and Williams had played a overall of 5 snaps together gettingin Sunday’s contest. With all 3 on the field, the Chargers lastly looked like the hazardous offense NFL observers anticipated at the start of the season.
Williams endedup with 6 receptions for 112 lawns and a rating, while Allen included 12 receptions for 92 lawns and Palmer endedup with 4 receptions for 53 lawns.
Running back Austin Ekeler included 104 skirmish backyards and a 1-backyard goal run.
Miami’s initially goal came on a fluky fumble healing for a rating. Tyreek Hill returned a Jeff Wilson Jr. fumble for a 57-yard goal. Hill got the ball when left dealwith Terron Armstead turned it out of a scrum after security Alohi Gilman removed Wilson of the ball.
Midway through the 3rd quarter, Tagovailoa discovered Hill for a 60-yard goal when cornerback Michael Davis fell down in protection, cutting L.A.’s benefit to 17-14. But that would be as close as Miami would get.
Playing without frontline gamers like defensive end Joey Bosa, security Derwin James, defensive takeon Sebastian Joseph-Day and protective back Bryce Callahan, Staley did a skillful task of taking away what Miami does well — tossing in the middle of the field and taking deep shots.
One of the worst run defenses statistically in the NFL, the Bolts likewise held Miami to 92 lawns hurrying.
“We simply desired to get on them,” Gilman stated. “A lot of men when they play them, they play them a little softer, top-down[coverage] But we were attempting to be aggressive with them, since we understand they got gas — speed. So we desired to get on them early and make them feel that pressure. It’s simpler to dink and dunk when you sit back. So that was our technique today.”
Staley summed up the Chargers’ defensive method even more merely.
“Don’t let quick men run down the field,” the coach stated. “When you let quick men run down the field, and you let them run through zones with no one around, then it’s going to turn into a track fulfill. And guess what? You’re not as quickly as they are. No one is.”
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Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a years, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
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