Chargers vs. Cardinals: 5 takeaways from LA's loss

The first game of the Mike McDaniel and Chris O’Leary era fell flat on its face.

Favored by 11.5 points heading into the season opener, the Chargers instead lost to the Cardinals 26-14, starting the season with a loss and narrowing their margin for error as the schedule gets tougher.

Here’s what to take away from the game.

Arizona ran for 119 yards and quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 27 of 37 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown, 170 of which went to tight end Trey McBride and slot receiver Kendrick Bourne. McBride had 9 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown while primarily matched up with nickel Derwin James Jr., who didn’t seem to have any answer for McBride on the afternoon. The Chargers sacked Brissett only once, when Daiyan Henley and Troy Dye combined to force Brissett out of bounds for a minimal loss in the fourth quarter, after drafting edge rusher Akheem Mesidor in the first round. Cornerbacks often played off coverage despite Arizona running primarily quick passing concepts, and edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu dropped into coverage on the opening drive rather than rushing Brissett. Defenders often seemed confused and hesitant, especially in the first half, leading to a flat showing from O’Leary’s unit in his first game as a coordinator.

The Chargers couldn’t recover from several unforced errors on Sunday. Running back Omarion Hampton ran into the back of wide receiver Tre’ Harris and fumbled in the second quarter, ending what had been a promising drive to that point. A fourth-and-goal try before the end of the half resulted in Justin Herbert being sacked for a loss of 13 yards after left guard Trey Pipkins III was beaten immediately by Dante Stills. Herbert threw a deep pass into double coverage towards Derius Davis that was intercepted by safety Andrew Wingard and prevented the Chargers from driving downfield to trim the lead in a 23-14 ballgame at that point. Arizona made no such errors, avoiding all turnovers and blocking a JK Scott punt in the third quarter to set up the touchdown opportunity that made the score 23-14 to begin with.

Before wide receiver Ladd McConkey exited with a chest injury, the Chargers offense looked like it had all of the elements promised when they hired McDaniel as offensive coordinator. The third-year receiver had receptions of 18 and 19 yards on the first drive before Hampton ran through a pack of Cardinals defenders to score a 9-yard touchdown, showing off the contact balance that was so highly touted as a prospect last season. Hampton took another run for 14 yards on the next drive before Herbert hit tight end David Njoku for 12 yards prior to Hampton’s fumble. From there on out, Herbert and his receivers looked out of sync, and Herbert struggled to find answers off-schedule. If the offense can find that rhythm again, rather than chasing their mistakes in the second half, it looks like the Chargers should be a high-octane unit.

There’s a reason most NFL teams don’t rotate offensive linemen when the games start to count against your record. The Chargers started Kayode Awosika next to Rashawn Slater, but took him out for Pipkins on the drive where the veteran allowed the fourth-and-goal sack. Awosika came back in, but the two continued to rotate as LA continues to look for an answer at that spot, despite the fact that Awosika looked more impactful all game. At center, rookie Jake Slaughter had his ups and downs, but committed two penalties when the Chargers were down 9, contributing to an eventual 3rd and 30 situation that Herbert could not pull LA out of. At least all five (six, really) members of the line got through the game healthy.

Considering how much the offense sputtered after McConkey left the game, his chest injury suffered when he got crunched by linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. will be one to watch going into next week. McConkey was not on the sideline as the game ended, and although the Chargers had already struggled with him, he was clearly the receiver most in sync with Herbert. Receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith also left the game with a hamstring injury, as did safety Elijah Molden. Molden’s injury required more from Tony Jefferson, who played 39 snaps, and rookie Genesis Smith, who played 27. Smith generally acquitted himself well in that action, but Molden’s impact for the Chargers has been proven over multiple seasons and would be sorely missed if his injury is long-term.

This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers vs. Cardinals: 5 takeaways from LA’s loss