Mucho Thanks to James Dilbeck (Seattle) for subbing in for the Falcons Bill Howell. Bill couldn't play due to other obligations and he kindly consented to me seeking a sub.
Three Turnovers Doom Chargers
San Diego, March 18th, 2021: The Chargers did almost everything right. They rushed for 255 yards, averaging eight yards a carry, they threw for 201 yards on 25 dropbacks, averaging eight yards per dropback, and they outgained their opponent from scrimmage, 456 yards to 288.
They did almost everything right except win, falling to the Falcons 17-16.
Whoever said statistics are for losers got that right.
The Chargers dropped a must-win ball game against the 1-9 Falcons to fall a half-game behind the Chicago Bears for the sixth and final seed with just five games remaining. The Chargers are now 7-4 on the season and the Falcons raised their record to 2-9.
The biggest statistic was the minus three in the turnover column, with Daniel Jones throwing two picks - on his first and last passes in the game. His last pass was particularly damaging, as it came in the final three minutes with the Chargers at the Falcons 14 and needing only a field goal to take the lead. With the Falcons looking for the run, the Chargers called for a short safe pass to the sideline to their best receiver, Courtland Sutton. But Jones failed to arc it over the outstretched arms of linebacker K.J.Wright, who picked it off at the Atlanta ten and returned it 37 yards to near midfield with 2:20 left in the game.
The Falcons went three and out and the Chargers got the ball back with 1:57 left in the game at their own 20, still needing only a field goal to win.
But when the Chargers offense came onto the field, Daniel Jones was standing on the sideline next to the head coach and it was veteran Matt Schaub trying to lead the Chargers downfield in those last two minutes.
Schaub had not thrown a pass this season before being inserted into the game, and while his first pass was complete to Ricky Seals-Jones for 16, a flag nullified that play and backed the Chargers up to their own 10. After a 13-yard completion, a sack of Schaub backed the Chargers up to their own 15. The Chargers were unable to overcome that situation and turned the ball over to the Falcons and the Falcons ran out the clock.
Hank Sienzant has some 'splaining to do. And he tried to justify the decision to bench Jones at that point for Schaub after the game. "Daniel had those two picks, including that crucial one late, and we just felt - I just felt, it was my decision - a veteran presence would give the team a lift and was what the team needed at that moment. Obviously, it didn't work out the way I wanted."
In response to questions about who the starter will be moving forward, Sienzant said, "We still have the utmost faith in Daniel, and he's our starting quarterback moving forward. We're not looking back, we're looking forward. It's on to San Francisco."
The Chargers never led in the game, and the Falcons did just enough to keep the Chargers off-balance and move the ball. They went ahead 3-0, 10-3, and 17-10, and the first two times they took the lead the Chargers came back to tie it at 3-3 and 10-10. But after the Falcons went ahead 17-10, the best the Chargers could muster were two field goals surrounding the halftime gun, and neither team scored in the final 26 minutes of the game.
But the Chargers had their chances, as you might expect from a team that piled up 456 yards from scrimmage, but they failed to capitalize.
Their biggest failure came on their penultimate drive. Starting from their own 20 with 6:58 left, they moved 66 yards in eight plays to the Falcon 14, with the biggest play Josh Jacobs' 31-yard run to the Atlanta 14. From there, Steven Sims gained nothing on a jet sweep, then Daniel Jones was picked off for the second time in the game.
After Jones was intercepted for the first time, by safety Devin McCourty with the pick returned 24 yards to the Atlanta 42, Atlanta was able to put three points on the board. They drove 38 yards in nine plays to get close enough for Michael Badgley to punch a 38-yard field goal through the uprights. The Falcons got as close as the Chargers 13 before Andrew Billings sack of Matt Ryan on third down stymied the drive.
The Chargers came right back to tie on their next possession, with Jacobs sparking the drive with a 28-yard run to the Atlanta 29. But three more runs could only gain seven yards, and the Chargers settled for the first of three Stephen Hauschka field goals, this one from 40 yards out.
After an Atlanta punt, the Chargers' second turnover came courtesy of a Courtland Sutton fumble after a 15-yard reception down to the Falcon 25. Brandon Carr scooped up the loose ball on the run and was only tackled after a return of 33 yards to the Chargers 42 yard line.
It didn't take long for the Falcons to capitalize on the turnover. After two consecutive carries by Mark Ingram picked up 14 yards and a first down at the Charger 28, a hard hit on the second run put Ingram out of action for the remainder of the contest. No matter. Jonathan Williams came into the game to replace Ingram, and on the next carry, took a sweep around the left side for the 28-yard touchdown to put the Falcons back in the lead at 10-3.
That lead lasted all of three plays, as on third and one from the Chargers 27, Daniel Jones went deep for Courtland Sutton and Sutton took the ball 73 yards to score to tie it up again at 10-10 with 6:04 left in the first half.
But the Falcons didn't let it faze them, as they came right back with another Jonathan Williams touchdown, this one of 26 yards on a reception from Matt Ryan to end their eight-play, 75-yard drive (the drive summary and the scoring summary has it as a 90-yard drive) to retake the lead at 17-10 with 2:03 left in the half.
The Chargers went into a hurry-up and exploited the Falcons' weak defensive front against the run, sending Josh Jacobs into the Falcons wall six straight times, picking up 56 yards, including runs of 15 and 20 yards. When Daniel Jones scrambled for 12 more down to the Falcon seven with 22 seconds left, it looked certain the Chargers would punch it in before halftime.
But it was not to be. Jones pass to tight end Foster Moreau failed, and the Chargers had to settle for Hauschka's second field goal of the game with three seconds left in the half, this time from 25 yards out. The teams went into halftime with the Falcons ahead 17-13.
The Chargers took the second-half kickoff and after three straight Jones completions gained 37 yards and moved the ball to the Falcons 38, Josh Jacobs gained another 18 on his carry to put the ball on the Atlanta 20. But three Jones passes gained only six yards and the Chargers settled for the Hauschka 32-yard field goal to cut the Falcons lead to 17-16.
No problem, right?
There were still 26 minutes to go and the Charger offense was moving the ball efficiently. Plenty of time for the Chargers to come back as they had against the Falcons earlier in the season. But it was not to be. Although the Chargers continued to move the ball, they could only advance it to midfield or just beyond, never close enough to try another field goal until that disastrous drive that ended with Jones being picked off by K.J.Wright to thwart the Chargers last best chance to win.
GAME NOTES: Josh Jacobs had five runs of ten yards or more and three of 20 or more. He gained 159 yards on the ground on just 17 carries, an average of 9.4 yards per carry. The 159 yards was 30 yards over his previous high. David Montgomery did well also, rushing ten times for 60 and catching two passes for another 15 yards.
Daniel Jones completed 13 of 20 (65%) for 200 yards (10.0 per attempt) and threw one touchdown pass, but his game was undone by the two picks, lowering his rating to just 75.0. That was his second-lowest of the season, behind only his 58.8 in week two against the Packers. He did add 30 yards rushing on three carries.
Courtland Sutton and Steven Sims tied for the team lead in receptions with five each, But while Sims gained 51 yards, Sutton put up 116 yards, his most this season. Keelan Cole, acquired after week four, continues to acclimate to the Chargers offense, catching three for 37 yards.
For the Falcons, Jonathan Williams was the clear MVP, rushing five times for 38 yards and catching three passes for another 37. He scored both Atlanta touchdowns. Mark Ingram was the Falcons leading rusher with 41 yards on seven carries, an average of 5.9 per rush. He "added" one reception for minus-two yards.
Anthony Miller caught seven for 77 yards to finish as the Falcons leader in yards gained from scrimmage, while Matt Ryan completed 17 of 23 (73.9%) but for only 154 yards. Still, his one touchdown and no interceptions gave him a passer rating of 106.1.
TEAMS IN OPPOSITION: Stats are for losers, but the Chargers had 23 first downs to the Falcons 15, had nine runs of ten or more yards to the Falcons three, and picked up 456 yards from scrimmage to the Falcons 288. But the only stat that matters is the final score, and the Falcons won there, 17-16.
SEASON NOTES: Jacobs broke the thousand-yard barrier during the game and is fourth in the league with 1040 yards rushing through 11 games. David Montgomery has 673 after 11 games and at his current pace will finish with 979 yards rushing. He's 12th in the league at present. Jacobs will finish with 1513 at his current pace. Daniel Jones remains the only quarterback with as many as one touchdown pass once every ten attempts (24 of 239). He's ninth among qualifiers right now with a 108.6 passer rating. Courtland Sutton is first in average with 22.2 yards per catch and has 12 touchdowns to lead the league at present. His 910 yards are good for seventh in the league through 11 weeks.
NEXT MAN UP: The Chargers lost two key offensive players for what looks like the duration of the season. Wideout John Ross, who offers a deep threat opposite Courtland Sutton, went down on the first play of the third quarter with what x-rays later revealed was a broken bone in his foot, and he'll be out at least seven or eight weeks. Ross can come back in time for the Super Bowl or maybe the NFC Championship game. Center Matt Skura was lost in the fourth quarter with a neck injury and the early diagnosis is he'll be out until at least four weeks if not longer.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Falcons most likely blew any chance they had at one of the earliest picks with their second victory. Right now they'd draft seventh if you're looking that far ahead. Next week they host 2-9 Kansas City for an opportunity to get to 3-9. The Chargers, who dropped to 7-4 and who may look back on this day and rue it as the game that killed their playoff chances, need to regroup quickly and travel next a bit north to San Francisco to face the 7-4 49ers.
Posted on 19 Mar 2021 by Hank-Chargers
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