What once were points have now become penalties.
Touchdowns have been replaced by turnovers.
The Chargers, after a 3-0 start, have pulled a dispiriting U-turn, losing consecutive games and suddenly groping for answers a mere five weeks into the NFL season.
The latest setback came Sunday with a 27-10 loss to the Washington Commanders, a game that had all the hallmarks of this whipsaw Chargers season.
They scored the first 10 points, then surrendered an unanswered 27.
“We prepare all week, the coaches emphasize focus and discipline every single day,” safety Derwin James said. “To come out and not execute, not play disciplined, that’s disappointing.”
The most coordination the Chargers showed all day was their hasty exit from SoFi Stadium, an SUV whisking away owner Dean Spanos, followed by a pair of golf carts whizzing past the locker room. One carried standout left tackle Joe Alt, reduced to a spectator with his high ankle sprain. Riding on the back of the second cart was rookie running back Omarion Hampton, a first-round pick, wearing a protective boot on his left foot. His coach declined to elaborate on that apparent injury.
The franchise that opened the season by running the table against its three AFC West opponents has dropped two in a row to the NFC East, the first of those losses to the previously winless New York Giants.
The Chargers were penalized a combined 24 times in those two losses compared with a total of 15 flags in their first three wins.
Washington wide receiver Deebo Samuel scores on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels in the fourth quarter of the Commanders’ 27-10 win Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“Without breaking down every one, it comes down to focus,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Knowing what to do and when to do it. … They’re all correctable.”
There are only so many hours in a week, however, and the Chargers need to fix this airplane while they’re flying it. They travel to Miami to play the Dolphins on Sunday.
“It’s about concentration, focus, alignment, assignment and technique,” the coach said. “All the things good teams do. Those things are in our DNA and our character.”
But who are the Chargers? Are they the team resilient enough to fly all the way to Brazil and knock off the Kansas City Chiefs, then beat the Raiders in Las Vegas and finish off Denver in Los Angeles? Or are they the Not Ready For Prime Time Players who face-planted two weeks in a row?
They don’t have time to recline on the therapy couch.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh walks on the sideline during a 27-10 loss to the Washington Commanders at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“Everything’s contagious, momentum good or bad,” James said. “You get one flag and suddenly it feels like it spreads. Every phase had a flag today.”
The Chargers might have been their own worst enemy Sunday, but Washington rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt was a close second. He tore off some runs as long as his last name, finishing with a combined 150 yards and scoring on carries of 15 and five yards.
He slipped through the draft the way he eludes defenders, hanging around until the seventh round until the Commanders took him with the 245th overall pick. He zig-zagged across the country in college, playing for Alabama State, New Mexico and Arizona, playing just one game for the Wildcats in his final season because of eligibility issues. That accounted for him tumbling in the draft.
Regardless, he was all the Chargers could handle Sunday and the answer for a Commanders offense that was missing star receiver Terry McLaurin.
Although Washington scored a late touchdown with the game already in hand, a pivotal play came midway through the fourth quarter when the Chargers had a chance to take a big bite out of the visitor’s 20-10 lead. On third-and-goal from the 4, quarterback Justin Herbert fired a pass for sure-handed receiver Keenan Allen. But the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage, then intercepted by Washington cornerback Mike Sainristil. The threat was neutralized.
Washington players celebrate after cornerback Mike Sainristil intercepts a pass intended for Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen in the fourth quarter Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Tip or no tip, the cornerback said he was going to wind up with the interception.
“I was in my zone just playing off Herbert’s eyes and seeing where he was,” Sainristil said. “Honestly, with the tip or not, I think he was going to throw it right to me just based on where he was looking. We made the check that put me in the right spot.”
It was the second time in two weeks Herbert saw a pass batted and picked off.
“Sometimes it’s just bad luck,” the quarterback said. “The play was open, timing and rhythm felt right, but the defender made a good play getting his hand up. In the red zone, those windows are so tight that there’s no margin for error.”
Suddenly, the Chargers have to worry about their own window of opportunity closing. Historically, Harbaugh’s teams get better in his second season as coach. Last year’s team never lost more than two games in a row.
Like most everyone in the NFL, the Chargers had troubles containing Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is slowed somewhat by a sprained knee and bulky brace. The onetime star from Cajon High in San Bernardino threw for 231 yards and ran for 39.
Heading into the game, the primary concern of the Chargers offense was protecting Herbert, who was pressured on 46 drop backs in the first four games, more than any quarterback in the game, according to TruMedia. He was facing a defense Sunday that includes future Hall of Famers Von Miller and Bobby Wagner.
Herbert creates problems for defenses with his arm and legs. On the third play from scrimmage, he broke loose on a run up the middle and picked up 41 yards.
The opening drive appeared to end with a 29-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker, but the Chargers got new life with an offsides call on Washington. That afforded the Chargers a first-and-goal at the six, and two plays later, Herbert found Ladd McConkey with a two-yard pass for a touchdown.
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels passes in front of Chargers linebacker Troy Dye, left, and defensive tackle Justin Eboigbe in the second half.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Allen caught five passes, becoming the 16th receiver in NFL history to accumulate 1,000 career receptions. He came into Sunday’s game needing two catches to hit that milestone, and he did that in fewer games than anyone (159), compared with the prior record-holder Marvin Harrison (167).
“It’s just another accolade,” Allen said with a shrug. “Me and [Hall of Fame tight end] Antonio Gates used to joke about these records. Some of them feel like made-up stats. Fastest to 1,000? That’s definitely a made-up stat.
“You don’t grow up at 6 or 7 years old saying, ‘I want to be the first to 1,000 catches in this many games.’”
Instead, he was feeling the indigestion of defeat.
“Stomachache, bellyache, hangover type of feeling,” he said of losing two in a row. “When you beat yourself, that’s the worst kind of loss.”