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Kris Rhim, ESPN
LOS ANGELES — The script has been the same for the Los Angeles Chargers this season.
Los Angeles looks dominant early in games: the offense moves with ease and the defense makes stops. Take the Chargers’ most recent game against the Ravens, for example. The Chargers took a 10-0 lead, quarterback Justin Herbert ran through SoFi Stadium with the ball roaring after a touchdown celebration and the defense kept the league’s best offense in check.
The Chargers scored points on three of their five drives in the first half to go into halftime trailing 14-13. It was an encouraging start.
Then, in the second half, the Chargers’ offense disappeared, a decline that has become routine. The Chargers were outscored 16-3 in the second half of Monday’s loss to the Ravens before running back Gus Edwards’ garbage-time rushing touchdown made the game look closer than it actually was at 30-23.
“It’s an unfortunate ending,” Herbert said. “We wanted to score more points, but we didn’t. You have to look back to take advantage of those opportunities in the red zone and make sure we’re converting on third down.”
In many ways, the second half against the Ravens was one the Chargers had played all season. They were able to overcome these struggles during their four-game winning streak against weaker opponents, but it didn’t work against Baltimore.
Through the second half of games this season, the Chargers rank 31st in yards per game (134.4), 30th in points per game (8.4) and opponent yards per game (199.4) and 28th in time of possession (13:48).
It’s a far cry from how dominant they have been in the first half of this season. The Lions (+121) are the only team with a better first-half point differential. The Chargers rank in the top five in point differential (+88), opponent points per game (5.7), opponent yards per game (124.3) and time of possession (16:45). They are eighth in points per game and ninth in yards per game.
From Week 2 to Week 6, the Chargers did not score a touchdown in the second half. The five-game scoreless streak was the longest since the Ravens’ streak from Weeks 14-18 in 2022, when Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman was Baltimore’s OC. Roman resigned after that season.
“I think there have been some incredible parts of football and some parts that we would like to bring back,” Roman said. “But guys are working really hard on it and it’s tough in the NFL… it’s something we’re pursuing.”
In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Chargers had a similar second-half disappearing act in front of a national audience. After taking a 24-6 lead in the first half, the Chargers were outscored 21-3 in the second half before the offense took the field with 45 seconds left. The offense punted on six of its eight drives in the second half and turned the ball over on another.
A late touchdown by running back JK Dobbins sealed the game and saved the Chargers from an embarrassing loss. But there were no saviors against the Ravens. Dobbins left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury and receivers dropped a season-high four passes against the Ravens.
After the loss, Herbert, who entered the week with the NFL’s third-best QBR in the first half of this season compared to 29th in the second half, said he disagreed with the idea that the Chargers They have been a bad second half team.
“We’ve shown that we’re capable of going out and scoring in the second half,” Herbert said. “Obviously it’s a tough game and we’d love to score more points. We just have to keep executing and do everything we can. I think we did a good job moving the ball.”
The Chargers have games in which their second-half performance equaled or surpassed their first-half performance.
Against the Tennessee Titans, for example, they played perhaps their best game of the season, scoring two second-half touchdowns in a dominant victory. Or in Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints, when the Chargers scored 17 points in the second half of that victory.
But those performances have been anomalies. The Chargers have consistently been one of the best teams in the NFL during the first 30 minutes of games this season and one of the worst during the final 30 minutes.
As they look to return to the playoffs as true contenders this season, their second half could be what stops them.
