Chargers, looking to avoid 0-3 start, seek complete game against Vikings

Now it gets tougher. Now the winless Chargers must face the winless Minnesota Vikings on Sunday inside what’s certain to be a roiling cauldron of noise at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Can you smell the desperation? Can you sense the urgency? Can you imagine the tension? Can you feel the pressure?

The Chargers (0-2) can’t afford a third consecutive defeat to start the season.

The Vikings (0-2) also can’t afford a third consecutive defeat to start the season.

Something’s got to give.

Unless they tie, of course.

On paper, the Chargers would seem to have all it takes to be consistent winners.

On the field, it’s been a different story, a puzzling, confounding story.

“Obviously, we’re missing something,” Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen said after they lost 27-24 in overtime last Sunday to the Tennessee Titans, their second consecutive narrow defeat. “Don’t know what it is, but we’ll figure it out. Keep working in practice. We’ve got Minnesota (Sunday) and we’ll try to figure it out then.”

Allen was speaking generally, but it’s clear one phase of the Chargers’ game isn’t playing to the level of the other two. It’s the Chargers’ defense, ranked 32nd in the 32-team NFL in yards allowed, that has let down the team through the first two games. The offense and the special teams have been just fine.

Well, the offense has performed well enough to win, but come up short twice.

It’s the defense that has been the glaring issue so far.

As in the Chargers’ 36-34 loss Sept. 10 to the Miami Dolphins, big plays proved costly against the Titans. Their defense, particularly in the secondary, suffered massive breakdowns, yielding big gains that sent the Chargers slumping and the Titans soaring. It was a scenario the Chargers hoped to avoid this season.

The Chargers’ inability to cut down on explosive plays was a bugaboo in 2022, something they addressed during the offseason and in training camp. An otherwise sound defense against the run against the Titans cracked on 70- and 49-yard pass plays that led to touchdowns, in the latest example.

An emphasis this past week in practice was on technique rather than schemes.

“Yes, because the secondary has been giving up big plays, explosive plays,” cornerback J.C. Jackson said. “For a defense, that’s our number one standard, to eliminate explosive plays and create takeaways, and we have not been doing that. We have been getting beat each and every week, man.

“Coach has been harping on us about our fundamentals.”

Chargers coach Brandon Staley Staley didn’t offer a counter narrative during the week when asked to address the team’s obvious defensive shortcomings against Miami and Tennessee, but he did suggest perhaps an additional narrative when asked what might be missing two games into the new season.

“There’s not just one ingredient, but I think the key thing is being able to capitalize on our opportunities,” Staley said. “I think people are looking at the end of the games, but I think that we’ve had opportunities at the beginning and the middle part of the game to separate (build a bigger lead), and I don’t think we’ve been able to do that. We just have to execute at a higher level to get that accomplished. Then, at the end of the game, we have to be at our best.”

While it’s true the Chargers’ defense hasn’t played up to expectations. It’s also true that the offense had chances to rally to defeat the Dolphins and the Titans in separate late-game opportunities. Against the Dolphins and Titans, quarterback Justin Herbert failed to deliver a game-winning touchdown.

Herbert and the offense had 1:45 to work with against Miami, but couldn’t move the ball. He did drive the Chargers for a tying field goal in the last 2:22 to send the game to overtime against Tennessee. But they went three-and-out on their lone OT possession and the Titans kicked the winning field goal on theirs.

At some point, the Chargers must put it all together if they hope to win.

Sunday is the next opportunity, and it’ll be against a team trying to do the same.

“Things haven’t gone our way the past couple of games, but panicking is never going to fix anything,” Herbert said. “It’s up to us to be able to fix that. As an offense, score more points. We believe in the defense. Sometimes we’re going to score a bunch of points and sometimes we’re not.

“But it’s up to us as a team to play together.”

CHARGERS (0-2) at VIKINGS (0-2)

When: 10 a.m. Sunday

Where: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis

TV/Radio: Ch. 11; 98.7 FM; 105.5 FM/94.3 FM (Spanish)