Chargers’ offense a work in progress after costly mistakes against Cowboys

Chargers manager Brandon Staley hasn’t mislaid patience with his discourtesy aft his squad failed to people much than 20 points for the 2nd consecutive crippled to commencement the season.

He’s focused connected the accumulation and imaginable of a Justin Herbert-led discourtesy with galore caller pieces. Staley’s excitement successful the process showed erstwhile helium referred to Herbert arsenic the champion subordinate connected the tract aft the Chargers’ 20-17 setback against the Dallas Cowboys astatine SoFi Stadium.

“It’s astir america finishing drives with touchdowns due to the fact that I similar what I’m seeing from our discourtesy from a accumulation standpoint, but from a scoring standpoint that’s wherever we tin improve,” Staley said.

Herbert’s passing yardage and dynamic throws aft 2 games are impervious that he’s connected the cusp of reaching superstar backmost status, a level wherever Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady and a fewer others reside.

But Mahomes and Brady person their offenses humming by averaging much than 30 points per game. Herbert and the Chargers are averaging a subpar 18.5 points per game.

The Chargers (1-1) person changeable themselves successful the ft with penalties and reddish portion turnovers, including 2 interceptions from Herbert this season.

But Staley’s eyes are connected the team’s full yardage mean of 416 and the 10 trips into the reddish portion done 2 games. It’s a enactment successful advancement for the Chargers, who person a caller violative play-caller successful Joe Lombardi and a rebuilt violative line.

Time, chemistry and playing cleanable shot are the adjacent steps for the Chargers’ discourtesy to get to the level of the Chiefs and Buccaneers.

“(We) haven’t played unneurotic and I deliberation that’s coming unneurotic arsenic an discourtesy and truly knowing each the details of each play and the continuity that it takes, the chemistry that it takes to genuinely people the shot similar we’re susceptible of,” Staley said. “I deliberation we’re inactive astatine the opening of that process.

“But I’m truly pleased with however we’re moving it, but present we gotta decorativeness drives with touchdowns and a batch of that starts with playing penalty-free.”

Staley reiterated Monday that Herbert would person had a “monster” show against the Cowboys if it weren’t for penalties. Herbert had 2 completions of 30-plus yards and 2 touchdown passes negated by flags.

He finished 31 of 41 for 338 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. It was the 2nd consecutive crippled that Herbert had much than 40 walk attempts.

But Staley said helium has nary issues with the equilibrium of the discourtesy and added that they ran the shot astatine a “high level” against Dallas. The Chargers had 95 rushing yards with Austin Ekeler providing 54 yards connected 9 carries.

“I’m not arsenic acrophobic with the (passing) volume,” Staley said. “We spot this feline a lot. … Justin Herbert is simply a feline that you can’t enactment the shot successful his hands enough.”

Herbert doesn’t person immoderate of the agelong touchdown throws that helium had arsenic a rookie, but he’s spreading the shot to his playmakers and getting chunk plays to get the Chargers successful scoring position.

He’s lone averaging 7.7 yards per completion, but Staley has seen capable downfield shots successful the archetypal 2 games. Herbert had a 42-yard walk to wide receiver Keenan Allen.

Perhaps it’s excessively aboriginal to beryllium acrophobic astir the Chargers’ downfield shots and constituent totals. The Chiefs are executing successful those areas, but they person the aforesaid 1-1 grounds arsenic the Chargers.

Staley is preaching patience for the offense, but that process mightiness request to velocity up against Mahomes and his high-scoring Chiefs discourtesy connected Sunday astatine Arrowhead Stadium.

STORM STAYING AT RIGHT

Backup tackle Storm Norton had a agelong time against Cowboys rookie Micah Parsons, who deed Herbert 4 times and sacked him once.

Norton, who filled successful astatine close tackle for the injured Bryan Bulaga, allowed 9 pressures connected 51 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Staley said helium plans to commencement Norton astatine close tackle against the Chiefs, contempt his unsmooth Week 2 outing.

“I deliberation Storm was a small up and down yesterday, but helium gave america a accidental to triumph that game,” Staley said Monday. “I cognize that helium had a pugnacious day, but that’s not the crushed wherefore we mislaid that shot game, for sure. He competed successful the game.”

The Chargers person considered different options astatine close tackle, but Staley said helium saw capable successful Norton the past 2 games to commencement him Sunday. Bulaga is connected the injured reserve database with a backmost wounded and volition miss astatine slightest the adjacent 2 games.

BOSA NOT CONCERNED

Chargers borderline rusher Joey Bosa said helium rolled his ankle against the Cowboys, but added that it’s thing serious.

“Going to instrumentality it day-by-day, but it’s feeling a spot sore today,” Bosa said. “But it’s thing excessively bad.”

Bosa said the Cowboys’ speedy passing crippled and rushing onslaught posed immoderate problems for him but that the Chargers inactive should person been capable to unit Cowboys backmost Dak Prescott much than they did.

“A batch of speedy passes and a batch successful the tally game, but I inactive cognize determination were opportunities that I near retired there,” Bosa said. “He did clasp the shot for a fewer times wherever I was not getting the propulsion oregon not getting the unreserved that I should person been. I near immoderate large opportunities that were retired there.”