INGLEWOOD — Chargers safety Derwin James did whatever he could to give his offense an opportunity to shake off a sluggish performance against the New England Patriots on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
James flung his right hand to force a fumble in the third quarter and crushed Patriots running back Brandon Bolden on a tackle for loss in the fourth quarter.
Both dynamic plays gave Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert the ball back, but James’ efforts didn’t lead to points. Instead, it was former Chargers safety Adrian Phillips who did the scoring.
Coming off a bye week, the Chargers’ offense did more of the same during the 27-24 loss to the Patriots. With a two-game losing streak, the Chargers (4-3) have issues to address with Herbert and his offense. Herbert attempted a rally after a touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Josh Palmer, but it was too late with 40 seconds left in regulation. Patriots tight end and former Charger Hunter Henry fittingly fielded the Chargers’ onside kick to end the game.
Phillips made a diving interception before tight end Jared Cook turned his back on the poor pass from Herbert. Phillips, who played six seasons with the Chargers, returned the interception for a 26-yard touchdown and the Patriots converted a 2-point conversion to take a 24-17 lead with 10:11 left in regulation. Phillips recorded two interceptions to push Herbert into his second consecutive sluggish performance.
The Chargers’ offensive struggles occurred after they took a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. On the next five possessions, the Chargers had a combined 34 yards with three punts, one takeaway and no points scored.
The Patriots took their first lead of the game at 16-14 after kicker Nick Folk’s 48-yard field goal with 3:39 in the third quarter. New Chargers kicker Dustin Hopkins had his own 48-yard field goal to retake the lead 17-16 with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Chargers scored points on their opening drive, something they didn’t do at all against the Patriots in last year’s 45-0 home shutout.
Herbert got the drive going with a 41-yard completion to wide receiver Keenan Allen. Running back Austin Ekeler pushed the pile with the help of teammates for a 5-yard touchdown run and 7-0 advantage with 10:54 in the first quarter.
The Chargers had another big-gain play when running back Justin Jackson broke free for a 75-yard run in the second quarter. It was the second-longest run by a Charger in the past decade. Former Chargers running back Melvin Gordon had an 87-yard touchdown run at New England in 2017.
Herbert capitalized on Jackson’s run with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Allen for a 14-7 advantage with 12:35 in the second quarter.
Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones had his own 40-yard completion on the following drive after he found wide receiver Nelson Agholor for a 44-yard connection. Running back Damien Harris tied the game 7-7 with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The Patriots added two field goals from Folk to trim the Chargers’ lead 14-13 at halftime. Herbert was 8-of-15 for 92 yards, one touchdown and one interception at halftime. Jones struggled with accuracy in the opening half, going 8-of-22 for 126 yards.
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