COSTA MESA — Joe Lombardi’s tenure as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator ended a few days after they failed to preserve a 27-7 halftime lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC wild-card loss in January. They couldn’t run the ball and couldn’t run out the clock on what seemed like a certain victory.
A lack of an effective running game was a theme that ran through the 2022 season and ended up costing Lombardi his job after the Chargers’ second-half collapse against the Jaguars. A sound running game likely would have enabled the Chargers to grind out the second half and keep the Jaguars off the field.
So, exit Lombardi and enter Kellen Moore.
Trouble is, the Chargers’ ground game is still stuck in the mud.
The Chargers have averaged 3.9 yards per attempt (725 yards on 187 carries), ranking in the bottom half of the 32-team NFL going into Week 9.
True, they rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns on 40 attempts during their season-opening 36-34 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 10, a wide-open offensive game in which it seemed anything was possible. But yards have been difficult to come by on the ground in the weeks that followed.
Last week, for example, the Chargers had 54 yards and zero touchdowns on 25 attempts against the Chicago Bears. After building a commanding 24-7 lead by halftime (sound familiar?), the Chargers struggled to run the ball and run out the clock. They rushed for just 25 yards on 15 carries in the second half but still came away with a 30-13 victory.
“I think the run game is something, obviously, we would like to improve on,” Moore said. “At times, you’re going to have different challenges in an offensive scheme. I think, for us, we just have to try and find something and just create some stability in it, so we can create some consistency.
“We’re not going to rush for the 200 yards we did in Week 1 (against the Dolphins). That’s not normal in this league. We have to find a way to create some stability in that world. You’re just trying to navigate it to figure out what scheme we should maybe best utilize.”
Austin Ekeler remains the Chargers’ top running back, a productive seven-year NFL veteran who led the league in overall touchdowns the past two years with 38, including 18 during the 2022 season. He’s rounding back into form after spraining his ankle in the second half against Miami.
However, Ekeler is frequently at his most effective when catching passes from Justin Herbert rather than trying to run through holes that close quickly and result all too often in short gains or no gain at all. Ekeler rushed for only 29 yards on 15 carries against Chicago, but caught seven passes for 94 yards.
Coach Brandon Staley earlier this week referred to the Chargers’ ground game as “a work in progress.” He also said, “I think that we have to continue to explore what the line, the tight ends and the backs do the best and how the receivers fit into that, too. We’re just a work in progress in that phase.”
Although the Chargers did not make a move at the NFL trade deadline Tuesday, they did make a change at tight end. They waived Tre’ McKitty earlier this week and signed Nick Vannett, hoping for better blocking beyond top tight ends Gerald Everett and Donald Parham Jr.
“Felt like we just needed an upgrade,” Staley said of the roster moves.
It remains to be determined whether it pays dividends in the run game.
“I think the mission was accomplished, in terms of how we wanted to play that game, getting Justin in rhythm,” Staley said of beating Chicago last week. “I thought that we protected the passer really well, so that’s a sign that our front was playing well. But in the run game, there’s room for improvement. I think everybody knows that.
“Sometimes there are just aspects of offense, defense and kicking game that just take more time than others. That (the ground game) is an aspect of ours that we need to keep working on.”
INJURY REPORT
The Chargers ruled out wide receiver Joshua Palmer for Monday night’s game against the New York Jets because of a knee injury. Palmer, the Chargers’ second-leading receiver with 23 catches for 377 yards and one touchdown in seven games, did not practice during the week.
Defensive lineman Morgan Fox (oblique), wide receiver Jalen Guyton (knee), defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day (illness), linebacker Eric Kendricks (ribs), linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. (shoulder) and defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia (knee) were listed as questionable to play Monday.
