The Chargers’ run defense finally hit rock bottom last year. With a plethora of injuries on the defensive side of the ball and some poor tackling performances, the 2022 Chargers gave up 144.2 rushing yards per game.
Purely looking at the league rankings, Los Angeles, technically speaking, moved from 30th worst run defense in 2021 to 27th in 2022. But that rushing yards per game figure mentioned is more than the team has allowed in over 20 years. The 2003 Chargers allowed the next most at 139.6 rushing yards per game.
While the yards total is enough to suggest how bad the run defense was, figuring out what kind of runs were successful can lead us to a more layered diagnosis. The Bolts’ real struggle of 2022 was runs to the outside:
To Steven's point: The Chargers were bad but manageably so against interior runs (26th), but we're an outlier and historically bad against outside runs (32nd by a lot).
Outside runs vs the Chargers were more efficient than Patrick Mahomes last season.🫠 https://t.co/7nXXaFfFFU pic.twitter.com/7A3GNfneqG
— MIBPJ (@mibpj2) June 29, 2023
Of course, no one will argue that opponents averaging 4.5+ yards per carry on inside runs is good. It’s below league average but not historically significant. The health of Austin Johnson will be important in that respect.
On outside runs, however, per MIBPJ’s data, the 2022 Chargers allowed a whopping 8.73 yards per attempt. Out of 1632 unique team season run gaps since 2006, outside runs vs. the 2022 Chargers ranks last in run gap performance since the data has been tracked.
Let’s say the data tracks with almost whichever Chargers game is used as a sample from last season:
James Robinson TAKES OFF 🏃♂️💨
Jaguars lead the Chargers in LA, 23-10 👀 pic.twitter.com/iBw64UGGy4
— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork) September 25, 2022
The diagnosis? The EDGE duo of Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack did not perform at the level the Chargers expected, which led to more runs getting to the second + third levels of the defense.
Bosa was forced to miss most of the season after he left the Jacksonville game with an injury. His absence was brutally felt. Mack, unfortunately, had his worst season as a run defender in 2022 via PFF run defense grade and recorded the fewest run stops of his career in an entire season. The former Bear also finished with a 19.2% missed tackle rate.
So with the Bosa and Mack duo not working out in 2022, more outside runs got to the second and third levels. The Chargers’ run defenders and tacklers were relatively porous there as well. Combining the linebackers with the secondary for a moment, Derwin James and Michael Davis were the only Chargers players graded over 60+ in run defense on PFF. And when Los Angeles did snuff out a play properly, missed tackle rates were pretty problematic throughout the defense.
To some extent, the Chargers have recognized their problems against the run. Eric Kendricks is coming off of one of his best seasons as a run defender in Minnesota. Replacing Drue Tranquill with his production vs. the ground game is an upgrade.
The Kendricks signing will set the tone for the defense, especially given that he’ll have Brandon Staley’s green dot play caller responsibilities. But it will not be enough to fix the Chargers’ issues on the interior or exterior by itself.
As mentioned earlier, the Chargers missed Bosa in several respects last season. He needs to stay healthy for LA to have a shot at getting the run defense going in the right direction. And even though he’s not what he used to be in Oakland and Chicago, I’d bet on a slight return to form for Mack if Bosa is available to play on the other side of the line.
Separate from this, the Chargers need their other players to step up and make their tackles when runs get past the first level. Whether Kenneth Murray takes a step forward in this regard as a starter in a contract year will determine a lot. Past solely the linebacker room, the Chargers’ secondary also needs to be more consistent in the same manner.
