INGLEWOOD — U-g-l-y.
The Chargers had no alibi Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium.
That old taunt was never more appropriate than during the Chargers’ 38-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Not only did it describe the Chargers’ blocking and tackling and running and passing, it was also a fitting appraisal of the garish all-gold uniforms they wore as a tribute to days gone by.
Throwbacks?
Throwing them back might be a wise move after their third loss in four games.
Charger power?
Well, maybe in the second half when they rallied to make a game of it. Kinda. Sorta.
Even the returns of edge rusher Khalil Mack and linebacker Denzel Perryman couldn’t help the Chargers slow down the Colts’ NFL-leading offense, which went into the game averaging 32.3 points per game, and never trailed Sunday after the first of Jonathan Taylor’s three touchdown runs.
Mack was sidelined by a dislocated elbow, and Perryman was out because of an ankle injury. They were activated from injured reserve Saturday. The Chargers had no takeaways and forced the Colts to punt only twice. The Colts forced two turnovers and that was a big difference, too.
The Chargers dropped to 4-3. Indianapolis improved to 6-1.
At game’s end, there was no sense avoiding the obvious.
“Played like (expletive),” Chargers safety Derwin James said. “We weren’t locked in on the details. Simple (expletive). Passes to the flat. Bootlegs. Everything we practiced. (Lack of) communication on our part. Slacking off. Playing off. Overall, we’ve just got to look inward and be better. I’ve been saying the same (expletive). I’ve been saying the same things the last three or four weeks.
“Until we get it fixed.”
The Chargers and Colts played different games of football in a first half dominated by Indianapolis in every way imaginable. The Chargers trailed 23-3, and it could have been worse. Everything seemed to go haywire for the Chargers, who couldn’t match up with the Colts.
Indianapolis led in every category, including appearance.
The Chargers’ all-gold uniforms resembled nothing more than those of the Savannah Bananas, baseball’s version of basketball’s Harlem Globetrotters. The difference was the Bananas are masters of their game; the Chargers were nothing of the sort in the opening half.
Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw two interceptions.
The Colts rushed for 74 yards in the first half. The Chargers rushed for 10.
The Colts had 17 first downs. The Chargers had eight.
The Colts had the ball for 17:29. The Chargers had the ball for 12:31.
The Chargers were booed off the field after the Colts’ Michael Badgley’s 36-yard field goal made it 23-3 on the final play of the first half. They returned after intermission and promptly drove 70 yards on six plays in 1:59, capped by Herbert’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston.
It was the first of Herbert’s three touchdown passes in the second half. He couldn’t rally the Chargers from deficits of 31-10 and 38-17, though. He completed 37 of 55 passes for a career-high 420 yards with three touchdowns and two costly interceptions in the second quarter.
Both interceptions ended promising drives in Colts territory.
“I just can’t turn the ball over like that,” said Herbert, whose previous best was 405 yards during a victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 24, 2023. “It’s definitely not the way we want to go, and it’s something I have to take a look at. I’ve got to put the team in a position to win, and I didn’t.”
Whatever momentum the Chargers generated from Herbert’s first touchdown pass evaporated in the time it took Ameer Abdullah to return the ensuing kickoff 81 yards, setting up Taylor’s 8-yard touchdown run. Jones then connected with Michael Pittman Jr. for a two-point conversion and a 31-10 lead.
Taylor also scored on a 23-yard run in the first quarter. He had 94 yards on 16 carries, the third consecutive opposing back to shred the Chargers’ defense against the run, joining De’Von Achane of the Miami Dolphins (128 yards) and Jacory Croskey-Merritt of the Washington Commanders (111 yards).
The Colts’ success on the ground wasn’t a shock, according to Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley. In the end, the Colts did everything the Chargers expected from them, but did it better than anyone in those gold uniforms might have anticipated going into the game.
“No, that’s the wicked part about it, they didn’t do anything that was crazy spectacular or something surprising,” Henley said after the Chargers gave up 120 yards rushing. “They executed and we didn’t, and that’s all it really was. Yeah, bottom line, they executed and we didn’t.”