The Los Angeles Chargers sacked Zach Wilson eight times, including 2.5 by Joey Bosa, on their way to a 27-6 victory over the New York Jets; Justin Herbert was limited to 136 passing yards as he became the fastest player in NFL history to 1,500 career completions
Tuesday 7 November 2023 07:38, UK
Rookie Derius Davis returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown while Austin Ekeler added two more scores as the Los Angeles Chargers cruised past the New York Jets' standout defense for a 27-6 victory on Monday night.
Ekeler ran for 47 yards on 14 carries, and the Chargers (4-4) flashed some defense of their own with eight sacks while winning back-to-back games after a two-game skid. Los Angeles won with 191 total yards of offense, while the Jets had 270.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was 16-of-30 passing for just 136 yards, the lowest total in a game in his career, while getting sacked five times.
Los Angeles receiver Keenan Allen had eight receptions for 77 yards, passing the 10,000-yard mark for his career.
The Jets dropped to 4-4 as they failed to score more than 10 points for the third time this season. Breece Hall had 50 yards on 16 carries for New York and Garrett Wilson had seven receptions for 80 yards.
Quarterback Zach Wilson, who went 33 of 49 passing for 263 yards, lost two fumbles for the Jets and Garrett Wilson lost another as New York saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.
After the Jets went three-and-out on their opening drive of the game, Thomas Morstead sent a punt inside the Chargers 15-yard line and Davis split traffic up the middle of the field to find the end zone. The rookie from TCU scored his first career touchdown for a 7-0 lead.
The Chargers' Joey Bosa recovered a Zach Wilson fumble with 6:27 remaining in the opening quarter and Los Angeles went 50 yards in eight plays, finishing the drive with a 1-yard TD run from Ekeler.
Los Angeles Chargers
New York Jets
The teams traded field goals in the final six minutes of the first half, with the Jets' Greg Zuerlein hitting from 47 yards and the Chargers' Cameron Dicker answering with a 55-yard kick just before the break for a 17-3 advantage.
Zuerlein added a 46-yard field goal for the Jets with 9:52 remaining in the third quarter.
Dicker struck again to give the Chargers a 20-6 lead, making good on a 38-yard kick with 9:18 remaining in the game. Los Angeles' Khalil Mack forced another
Zach Wilson fumbled late in the game and Alohi Gilman returned it 48 yards to the Jets' two-yard line. Ekeler scored on the next play with 3:22 left.
In an illustration of how the night went for the Jets, C.J. Uzomah dropped a pass in the end zone with 41 seconds remaining and Tyler Conklin was stopped at the Los Angeles two-yard line on New York's final offensive play.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert: "The defense played terrific today, came up with some big stops and got a lot of turnovers. Offensively, we can move the ball better. We did a good job not turning the ball over. We had a couple punts and a few miscues, but those are things that we could fix."
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley: "We did the things that good defenses do. I thought we were physical, we did a really good job against the run game and we rushed the passer. We limited the explosions in the deep part of the field and we were really good in the red zone. So it was a team win."
Jets head coach Robert Saleh: "It felt like any time we got the momentum going, we just shot ourselves in the foot with penalties, turnovers. It just wasn't good enough."
The Chargers continue their season at home to the Detroit Lions (6-2) next Sunday while the Jets are on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders (4-5).
Week 10 kicks off Thursday when the Carolina Panthers (1-7) travel to face the Chicago Bears (2-7).
