In a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Chargers beat the Dolphins on Sunday night.
Here are a few of my takeaways from the game.
Justin Herbert is Him
Herbert was criticized all week leading up to this game, with a handful of pundits making their case for Tua Tagovailoa being the better quarterback, most notably Emmanuel Acho. And Herbert silenced those who thought that with a masterclass, finishing 39-of-51 for 367 yards and a touchdown.
Additionally, Herbert passed Andrew Luck for the most passing yards by a player through three seasons in NFL history.
The offensive line was outmatched for the most part, as evident by Herbert being sacked four times, hit seven times and 17 pressured times. But he mitigated the pressure with elite pocket movement and the ability to create off-script. From there, his decision-making was precise, and he made a handful of high-end throws.
Defensive domination
Down six defensive starters, you couldn’t ask for a better performance from Brandon Staley’s group against one of the league’s top offenses.
Tua Tagovailoa finished 10-of-28 passing, with four of his completions coming on the Dolphins’ final drive, for 148 yards, a touchdown and a quarterback rating of 65.3. Los Angeles held Miami to 219 total yards. The Dolphins went 3-for-11 on third downs.
The Chargers had success against Miami’s passing offense by challenging the wide receivers at the line of scrimmage, which messed with their timing and rhythm. Linebackers dropped back in coverage and closed the middle of the field and stopped underneath routes.
Michael Davis and Asante Samuel Jr. were outstanding at blanketing Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Aside from when Davis got his feet tangled with Hill that led to a 60-yard touchdown, Hill had just three receptions on nine targets for 21 yards. Waddle had two catches on four targets for 31 yards.
Alohi Gilman did a fantastic job filling in for Derwin James, breaking up a pass intended for Hill on the Dolphins’ first drive and forcing a fumble. Rookie Ja’Sir Taylor, who started for the injured Bryce Callahan, defended the slot very well.
Up front, the Chargers generated 15 pressures, with two sacks and two hits. Tagovailoa was pressured on 33.3% of his drop backs. Furthermore, Breiden Fehoko and Joe Gaziano were stout at the point of attack against the run.
The gang is back together
Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer had only been on the field together for 15 snaps entering this game. The three accounted for 22 receptions and 261 yards on Sunday night.
Williams returned after missing most of the last five games because of a high ankle sprain, and it was a night-and-day difference. He led the pack with six catches for 116 yards, including a 55-yard grab, and a touchdown.
Allen had a team-high 12 receptions for 92 yards, including a few clutch catches on third down. Palmer had four catches for 53 yards.
Talking about playoffs
Coming into the game, the Chargers had a 30% of making the playoffs. After beating the Dolphins they are back in the seventh spot and have a 59% chance to make the playoffs, per FiveThirtyEight.
If the Patriots beats the Cardinals on Monday night, New England will hold the No. 7 seed due to having a better record in conference play.
If Los Angeles defeats the Titans in Week 15, the odds to make the playoffs would increase to 79%. Further, if the Bills beat the Dolphins, the Bolts would have the tiebreaker over Miami for the 6 seed.
