Chargers @ Giants
Final Score: Giants 21, Chargers 18
Writer: Cody Parker @codyjparker
Watching this game, you would have never guessed that the Giants entered 0-3 and the Chargers entered 3-0. While the final score was close, New York controlled the game throughout and was able to withstand the desperate attempts of the Chargers to tie the contest in the final seconds. The biggest change for the Giants was the first start for rookie QB Jaxson Dart, who propelled the team to the win and looked very promising in doing so.
Despite the rookie QB leading the Giants to an upset victory, which is exciting for non-Charger fans, the biggest story here is, unfortunately, the injury to Malik Nabers. According to Ian Rappaport and Tom Pelllisero, the injury is believed to be a Torn ACL.
Three Up
- Omarion Hampton – Hampton was the only Charger RB to touch the ball today, and he was also the standout on the offense as a whole, picking up several critical gains and doing his best to will the Chargers to victory.
- Cam Skattebo – While not quite dominating touches to the extent Hampton did, Skattebo was clearly the lead back, and without Nabers, the Giants will need a new centerpiece skill player in the offense. Skattebo looks to be the guy.
- Quentin Johnston – QJ continues his post-hype breakout and was the most dependable of the Charger WRs in this game.
Three Down
- Ladd McConkey– McConkey’s game was characterized by critical drops early, followed by a disappearing act. I’ve been Ladd-optimistic, but he’s not the Chargers’ lead WR at this point, and that’s a letdown for how highly drafted he was.
- Justin Herbert – The Chargers continued being a pass-heavy team, but the rushing volume wasn’t there for Herbert in this game. Even worse, Left Tackle Joe Alt left this game early with an ankle injury.
- Wan’Dale Robinson – While the target share may increase with Nabers likely out for the season, the combination of sacks, scrambles, and QB runs from Dart takes many pass attempts out of the offense. As a result, the volume-dependent Robinson will struggle.
Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback
Justin Herbert: 23/41, 203 Yards, TD, 2 INTs | 1 Carry, 24 Yards
Rashawn Slater is the best Left Tackle in the league, but when he was injured for the season, the Chargers, who held an abundance of riches at the position, were able to slide Alt across the formation. The offensive line was undoubtedly made worse with Slater’s injury, but it wasn’t made poor. When Alt left the game in the first quarter, that was no longer the case. The impact on Herbert was noticeable. While 2 sacks on 43 dropbacks isn’t a high sack rate, Herbert was made uncomfortable in the pocket. The quality of his throws was negatively impacted, and the subpar stat line you see is a result of that.
Herbert’s lone run, a gorgeous 24-yard scramble to convert 3rd and 18, was impressive, but increased rushing opportunities are what push him up a tier in terms of fantasy QBs. Seeing those opportunities diminish is concerning, regardless of how impressive he is on a singular effort.
Running Back
Omarion Hampton: 12 Carries, 128 Yards, 1 TD | 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 37 Yards
Hampton’s 54-yard touchdown run was the highlight, but he displayed athleticism throughout, regularly turning would-be losses into positive runs by bouncing them outside, as well as powering through defenders for extra yards. Perhaps it’s because I’m partial to powder blue, but I’ve always thought Hampton showed fantastic athleticism and pass-catching ability, whether it be at North Carolina or with the Chargers.
Hampton was a legitimate receiving threat as well. Herbert felt at home checking down to him, and Hampton was consistently turning those into solid plays. Hampton isn’t an elite pass-catcher, but I’ve always felt he was a little underrated in this area, and that was on display in this game.
Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal both saw the field briefly, but it was just to give Hampton a breather, and typically occurred on a pass-blocking rep. This is Hampton’s backfield.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Quentin Johnston: 13 Targets, 8 Receptions, 98 Yards, 1 TD
Johnston was the Chargers’ best chance at WR playmaking in this game, and once again, Herbert’s favored target. Keenan Allen is who he is at this point in his career, and I’m not sure what’s happening with McConkey, but Johnston was a difference maker in this game.
Johnston has always been a YAC threat, but he showed a lot as a route runner, as well as at the catch point in this game. He ran a nice double move to get by the corner, then made a wonderful contested catch on a 36-yard touchdown reception. It’s nice to see Johnston succeed after two lackluster seasons to begin his career.
Keenan Allen: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 37 Yards
Allen plays on the outside more often than Robinson, but he similarly fits a specific role within the offense. Dependable possession receiver to pick up a critical 1st down? Keenan Allen’s your guy! Need downfield playmaking? You’ll probably have to look elsewhere at this stage in Allen’s career.
Ladd McConkey: 6 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards
Very much not dependable was McConkey. Herbert looked to find McConkey early, but the receiver dropped two would-have-been-first-downs on 3rd down early in the game. After that, Herbert looked in the direction of Johnston more often.
I’ve believed that McConkey will rebound and benefit from the increased pass attempts in the Charger offense. While I still believe that’s possible, this effort made that opinion harder to justify, and it’s obvious that Herbert lost faith in McConkey after the critical drops. The Chargers needed playmaking from McConkey, and he delivered the opposite.
Oronde Gadsden II: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards
Gadsen was a nice middle-of-the-field option for the Chargers. While he played the most of any Los Angeles TE, he was playing a strict move-TE role. I was a fan of Gadsden in college and through the draft process, but in both cases, he was viewed as a WR/TE tweener, and it’s clear the Chargers still view him that way.
Tyler Conklin: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards
New York Giants
Quarterback
Jaxson Dart: 13/20, 111 Yards, TD | 10 Carries, 54 Yards, TD
After his first series, I was ready to bestow Jaxson Dart with his gold jacket. The rest of the game wasn’t quite as good, but I’m overall encouraged by his performance.
Most notable is Dart’s rushing ability. A few of his 10 carries were scrambles, but for the most part, they were designed runs. Brian Daboll clearly views this as a weapon and a key part of the offensive scheme. The passing numbers aren’t particularly impressive, but Dart was accurate and decisive. The arm talent was apparent. The announcer team mentioned that Dart practices off-platform throws during his pre-game warmup, and his comfort level in making these throws is self-evident.
Dart’s biggest weakness in this game was pocket presence. Of his 5 sacks, most were when he failed to sense pressure and was taken unaware by a rusher. Five sacks may seem at odds with good decision-making, but Dart was committed to his process. You often see rookies drift back out of the pocket or unnecessarily roll out of a clean pocket. Neither of these was the reason for Dart taking so many sacks. Better pre-snap pass-rushing reads would benefit Dart a great deal. Unsurprisingly, Dart was less efficient as a passer after the Nabers injury. Robinson and Darius Slayton fit neatly into their slot and field-stretching roles, respectively, when accompanied by Nabers, but without an alpha receiver, too much is asked of them, and Dart had fewer open receivers as a result.
I would love to see more of the type of offense Daboll ran on the first drive of the game. While they slowed down as the game went on, they played at a frantic pace to open the game, snapping the ball in excess of 20 seconds remaining on the play clock. This is when the offense was at its most efficient.
Russell Wilson: 1/1, 8 Yards, Fumble (Recovered)
In case you saw the box score and wondered why Wilson was in the game, Dart was flagged by the independent medical staff and required to be evaluated in the blue tent. Wilson promptly held the ball too long, was sacked, and fumbled. He was fortunate to have Andrew Thomas recover it. After covering last week’s Giants game (and being a Broncos fan), I shuddered in fear at the prospect of having to watch more Russell Wilson. Thankfully, Dart returned the next series.
Running Back
Cam Skattebo: 25 Carries, 79 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
Skattebo continues to look great. While not as statistically impressive, Cam continued to show outstanding contact balance and showed great vision. Despite the high number of designed QB runs, the Giants are not a “tush-push” team. Instead, the Giants typically run either Skattebo or Dart out of a shotgun formation in short-yardage situations. Skattebo was very impressive in these situations, choosing the correct lane and converting the first down.
Devin Singletary: 7 Carries, 28 Yards
Skattebo is the top option, but Singletary saw the field some. Notably, while Skattebo has seen the majority of RB targets after the Tyrone Tracy injury, Singletary is the trusted pass-blocker. This was especially the case when the Giants were backed up against their own goal line.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Wan’Dale Robinson: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 14 Yards
Robinson kept his typical role with the QB change. That role also didn’t change when Nabers went down. I think the “Player A benefits from Player B drawing away coverage” argument is overblown and thus tend to avoid making it, but in this singular case, Robinson and Nabers are truly symbiotic. I don’t think Robinson will drastically regress with Nabers out, but I also don’t think he’s capable of being an alpha receiver.
Robinson truly is a role player, and he fits into that role exactly. Nabers being hurt doesn’t suddenly mean Robinson will be playing X-receiver or all of a sudden become capable of doing any more than he’s done throughout his career.
Darius Slayton: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 44 Yards
Slayton is likewise a player who fits a specific role, but he’s also a little more capable of going beyond that role. While technically out-targeted by Robinson and Theo Johnson, Slayton was the best playmaker of the three, and the only one capable of producing anything downfield.
Malik Nabers: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
The Dart to Nabers connection was so brief, yet so beautiful. When he wasn’t running, Dart was targeting Nabers. In addition to 2 receptions, Nabers drew a pass-interference on what looked to be a 20+ yard reception. Three catches might not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that the Giants were heavily utilizing both the QB and RB run game early on, so that was a majority of their receiving production. Dart was at his most confident when throwing to Nabers, and it’s beyond unfortunate that we won’t get to see the combo again in 2025.
Beaux Collins: No Recorded Statistics
I’m including Collins here because he saw an increase in snaps after the Nabers injury. He…uh…isn’t Malik Nabers. Jalin Hyatt played as well. Neither recorded so much as a target. Both Collins and Hyatt displayed beautiful running form in their wind sprints. As receivers, they made McConkey look productive in comparison.
Theo Johnson: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 17 Yards, TD
Johnson is a fine TE, but I’m just not sure he brings quite enough as a pass-catcher. He displayed nice power on his touchdown reception, but without Nabers, this is the time for him to truly shine. He simply didn’t do that in this game.
Daniel Bellinger: 1 Target, 1 Catch, 13 Yards
Punter
I also feel I must shout out JK Scott and Jamie Gillian for their standout punting. I’m being sincere here; both had star turns, including two of the best punts I’ve ever seen. After Jim Harbaugh made a late decision to punt, the Chargers’ punt team was forced to scramble onto the field with just 10 seconds remaining on the play clock. Unphased, Scott calmly awaited the punt with time ticking down and punted the ball with a second left to save Harbaugh from having to burn a timeout based on his own indecisiveness. Not only did Scott get the punt off, but he absolutely dotted it. The ball hit down inside the 5, rolling slowly down to the 1-yard line. His team was there to down it, but there was no need as the ball rolled to a complete stop.
Gillian also faced adversity, punting from the 1-yard line. Despite having very little room to work with, Gillian drilled a 69-yard punt with sufficient hang-time to allow the punt team to cover the kick within 10 yards. While fantasy-irrelevant, let it be known that if I see a premium display of punting, I will let people know about it.