Chargers suffer ‘complete team loss’ to opportunistic Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Chargers turned in a clunker Sunday against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. There was no sugarcoating their first loss in four games to start the season. They knew it. The Giants knew it. A crowd of 81,954 knew it and millions watching on TV knew it, too.

A makeshift offensive line needed another makeover after left tackle Joe Alt was forced from the game in the first quarter because of a sprained right ankle. It wasn’t an excuse for the fact that quarterback Justin Herbert absorbed 12 hits one week after the Denver Broncos hit him 14 times.

It was a reason, though.

It wasn’t the only one, but it contributed significantly to the Chargers’ 21-18 loss to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and the opportunistic Giants, who won their first game of the season after losing their first three. In the end, the Chargers had their chances, but couldn’t rally from a 13-3 deficit.

The Chargers seemed primed for a second comeback victory after they stormed back to defeat the Broncos last Sunday at SoFi Stadium, rallying in the final five-plus minutes from a 20-13 deficit to win 23-20. One final, desperate possession Sunday ended at their own 48 with zeroes on the clock.

“Complete team loss,” Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. said.

James went down a lengthy list of bugaboos that hurt the Chargers, including but not limited to 14 penalties totaling 107 yards, the Giants’ 7-for-15 efficiency on third downs, a lackluster start that featured deficits of 10-0 and 13-3 in the first half and a failure to force a New York turnover.

“I don’t want to say it’s one of those Sundays, but we weren’t connected in all three phases (offense, defense and special teams),” James said. “I mean, we just weren’t connected (Sunday). (But) we ain’t pointing fingers. As bad as we played, we still had a chance to win.

“It wasn’t our best game, but, hey, get better from it, bro.”

Linebacker Daiyan Henley discounted the idea that it was a wake-up call.

“We understand it’s the NFL and it’s week to week,” Henley said. “Today, we got outplayed and we’ve got to make adjustments. We had penalties that were a lack of focus. We had plays we could be better on, and so it wasn’t a wake-up call. We weren’t smelling the roses.”

Next: The Chargers play host Sunday to the Washington Commanders, who dropped to 2-2 after a 34-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. It will be a chance to correct all that went haywire for them against the Giants, whose pressure of Herbert limited him to a season-low 203 yards passing.

What they can’t correct is a bruised and battered offensive line.

Alt was hurt when Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux fell on his right leg on Herbert’s 24-yard scramble for a first down on a 3rd-and-19 play from the Chargers’ 26-yard line with a little more than six minutes left in the opening quarter. Alt limped to the sideline in obvious pain.

Later, he returned to the Chargers’ sideline wearing a walking boot on his ankle.

Herbert’s protection was never the same, especially with right guard Mekhi Becton sidelined after suffering a concussion in the first half against the Broncos. The Chargers began the season without left tackle Rashawn Slater, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in training camp.

Herbert completed 23 of 41 passes for 203 yards with a 36-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Quentin Johnston in the second quarter and two interceptions, which set up a Giants field goal in the second quarter and a 3-yard touchdown pass from Dart to tight end Theo Johnson in the third.

The Giants applied near constant pressure on Herbert. Although they sacked him only twice, he was knocked to the turf repeatedly after his throws. Herbert completed eight passes to Johnston by game’s end for 98 yards. Keenan Allen and Omarion Hampton each had five catches.

Hampton, a rookie running back, rushed for a career-high 128 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown run, on 12 carries. Hampton’s productive running was one obvious solution to the Giants’ relentless pass rush, but it wasn’t one the Chargers exploited fully, giving him the ball only 12 times.

“It’s part of the game,” Herbert said of the many hits he has taken in the past two games. “You know that playing quarterback you’re going to get hit. Thankfully,  we have a great training staff and we’re going to do everything we can to get back out there. It’s part of the game. We have to be ready to get hit.”