'SNF' takeaways: Justin Herbert rebounds, Bears D comes down to earth
The Los Angeles Chargers snapped a two-game losing streak in style, cruising to a 30-13 win over the Chicago Bears on "Sunday Night Football." Here are three takeaways from the Chargers prime-time victory:
Justin Herbert puts recent slump in the rearview
Herbert, who hadn't been playing his best football of late after suffering a broken finger, wasted little time erasing those poor outings. Kicking off the win rattling off 11 straight completions, Herbert ended the first half with only four incompletions (21-of-25), one more than the three touchdowns he threw.
With a big lead, the Chargers offense cooled down in the second half, but Herbert still finished 31-of-40 for 298 yards and three scores, posting a passer rating of 122.7.
Before his Sunday night breakout, Herbert had struggled mightily over the previous three games. Herbert was lackluster in a Week 4 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and wasn't much better in back-to-back losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. He completed only 57.1 percent of his passes (52-of-91), well off his season average of 66.98, throwing for four touchdowns and four interceptions while posting a passer rating of 75.9 in that three-game span.
The Chargers hope, with his finger healing and a positive outing under his belt, that his prime-time performance is the beginning of things to come.
Is it time to panic about Austin Ekeler?
Ekeler had a fine game overall, finishing with 123 total yards and a touchdown in the victory. However, Ekeler struggled to run the ball, rushing for only 29 yards off 15 carries (1.9 YPC). The Chargers passing attack was flourishing, so L.A. didn't need a stout running game, but Ekeler's recent outings must be cause for concern.
Since Ekeler returned from an ankle injury that caused him to miss three games, he has yet to return to form running out of the backfield. Over the past three games, he's averaging only 2.3 yards per carry (101 yards off 43 carries).
To be fair, the Bears, despite giving up 30 points on Sunday, are tough against the run, ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (82.3). Ekeler will have a chance to turn things around in Week 9 against the New York Jets, who near the bottom of the league in stopping the run.
Bears defense comes back to reality
While Chicago stifled the Chargers rushing attack, L.A. didn't need to run against an extremely leaky Bears defense. Chicago entered the game ranked 29th against the pass (257.1 YPG), and it showed against the Chargers.
Herbert had an outrageously efficient night, and eight Chargers caught at least one pass on Sunday night, five with three or more. Leading the way were wideout Keenan Allen and Ekeler, who combined for 15 catches, 163 yards and a touchdown. As a team, the Chargers averaged 9.6 yards per catch.
It's a stark contrast from how the Bears unit performed in a Week 7 win over the Raiders, where Chicago allowed only 196 passing yards and forced three interceptions in a 30-12 victory. However, if there's one thing you can expect from a 2-6 football team, it's horrible inconsistency, which should be the Bears' new slogan.
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