The Chargers are down 14-6 to the Jaguars at halftime in Week 11.
Here’s a few things to take away from the first half.
Injuries striking again
Los Angeles can’t get away from the injury bug, no matter how much they try. Running back Kimani Vidal, the only back on the active roster, suffered a leg injury early in the second quarter. That forced the Chargers to trot out practice squad elevations Trayveon Williams (3 carries for -1 yards) and Amar Johnson (1 carry for 6 yards) until the Chargers got the ball back on their final drive. On that drive, Justin Herbert took a hard shot from BJ Green II that was called roughing the passer and ended the first half in the medical tent.
Offensive rhythm
Even when Vidal and Herbert have both been on the field, the Chargers’ offense just feels out of sync. Despite a Jaguars pass rush that has struggled to generate pressure all season and Jacksonville missing their top three corners after Greg Newsome left in the first quarter, Los Angeles has had trouble throwing the ball downfield. Jacksonville has thrived on shorter throws and prevented the Chargers from finding much room after the catch. Herbert is currently the leading rusher – 8 carries from running backs have only yielded 16 yards.
Run defense struggles
While the Chargers struggle on the ground, Jacksonville has found plenty of space. Rookie Bhayshul Tuten has 47 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, while regular starter Travis Etienne Jr. has six carries for 32 yards and a touchdown of his own. LA has had their fair share of problems defending the run this season because of their commitment to playing light boxes, but Jaguars blocking tight end Quintin Morris has sprung Tuten and Etienne free multiple times with strong kick-out blocks on Derwin James Jr. and the Chargers linebackers.
Up-and-down debut from Trevor Penning
Penning is starting at left tackle after taking a redshirt week last week while getting acclimated to the Chargers’ offense. The trade acquisition has been more of the same in pass protection on Sunday, however. He’s allowed one sack to Josh Hines-Allen and been called for a holding penalty and an illegal formation, the latter of which was offset by Green’s roughing the passer on Herbert. LA needs him to play more like the first-round pick he was in 2022 if they’re going to make a comeback in the second half.
Punting improvements
Punter JK Scott has been up and down this season, but it appears that the Chargers are getting more of the ups this week. Scott is averaging 49.7 yards on his three punts and has put 2 of them inside the 20 with a long of 57. Having gunner Deane Leonard back from injured reserve has helped, too – Leonard downed Scott’s third punt on the 1-yard line to prevent Jacksonville from launching a legitimate scoring threat to end the half.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers vs. Jaguars: First-half takeaways from Week 11 game
