Charger Report

5 Takeaways From Chargers' 20-17 Week 9 Win Over Falcons

What are the main takeaways we learned from the Chargers' Week 9 win over the Falcons?

Nicholas Cothrel

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The Chargers beat the Falcons 20-17 as the clock ticked down in the final seconds Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Here are five takeaways from the Chargers' fifth win of the season:

Dicker the Kicker for the win

After a quad injury to Taylor Bertolet, the Chargers' second kicker they had handed the responsibilities to this season, they were forced to turn the page yet again, moving on to kicker No. 3 as the team onboarded Cameron Kicker mid-week.

Dicker, who had been released by the Eagles, was getting ready to attend a Carrie Underwood concert in Austin, Texas, when his agent called earlier in the week, he told reporters after the game.

About an hour and a half later, he was on a flight to Los Angeles as Dicker was signing to the Chargers practice squad on Thursday. Three days later, Dicker hits the game-winning field goal to improve the Chargers' record to 5-3 at the halfway point of the season. 

“We’re going to set the NFL record for game balls for kickers” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said.

Dicker was 2-for-2 on field goals, hitting the 37-yard game-winner and a 31-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter, as well as converting on each of his two extra point attempts.

“He represents what this season has been about for us,” Staley said. “It takes everybody on the team to win.”

Slow starts continue

Sunday marked the fourth consecutive game the Chargers have fallen behind by double-digit points in the first quarter. 

As the Chargers went three-and-out on their first two drives, the Falcons scored a touchdown and a field goal within the first 15 minutes of regulation to get off to an early 10-0 lead.

In the last four games in the first quarter, the Chargers have scored just three points compared to the 51 points they've allowed.

But in doing it the hard way, they've shown the ability to overcome large deficits, going 3-1 over that stretch.

After allowing Atlanta to score on their first two drives, the Chargers held them in check for the greater part of the final three quarters. Across the Falcons' last seven drives, they scored just once more.

Justin Herbert looked like his true self

Justin Herbert continues to play through a rib issue that occurred in Week 2 when a hit to his midsection fractured his rib cartilage. At times this season, it's looked to limit him. But against the Falcons, Herbert's passes looked about as crisp as we've seen since the injury occurred.

Perhaps the two weeks off thanks in part to the bye week was good for Herbert's health. He completed 30-of-43 passes (70%) for 245 yards and one touchdown. The Chargers also had two drops – one by Gerald Everett and another by Joshua Palmer – that stalled drives, perhaps making Herbert's numbers look a bit deflated.

But one aspect the box score doesn’t measure is how well Herbert looked to move around. His mobility, moving in the pocket with great awareness and confidence was evident. The initial injury had limited how much he's leaned on his mobility, but that aspect of his game took a step forward against the Falcons, extending plays off-script when things broke down.

“He was very good with his mobility,” Staley said of Herbert. “He really used his legs effectively, and you’re going to have to do that. When your premium guys aren’t out there all the time, you’re going to have to use your legs to create some space and create some time for your guys, and I thought he just played the game the way he needed to play it today.”

Joshua Palmer steps up

Keenan Allen missed his sixth game this season after re-aggravating his hamstring injury during the bye week during rehab training. Mike Williams was also held out due to a high ankle sprain suffered at the end of the team's Week 7 game. 

That meant the Chargers would be without their top two pass-catchers, having to rely on less experienced players to carry the offense's passing game.

Second-year player Joshua Palmer entered the game as the team's No. 1 wide receiver in spite of Allen and Williams being out. In doing so, Palmer rose to the occasion, recording eight catches for a career-high 106 yards.

“This was a real feature game for Josh,” Staley said. “I thought you saw the type of receiver that we believe he is. He got his opportunities today, and he really took them and ran with them.”

Palmer's most productive game of his career finished with a critical 22-yard reception with 22 seconds left that put the Chargers in field goal range for Dicker to send the game-winning kick through the uprights.

Chargers' run defense has another rough outing

For the third time in the last four games, the Chargers allowed over 200 rushing yards to their opposition. 

The Falcons entered the game as the No. 5 rushing attack and they lived up to the billing. Atlanta leaned on the run game, keeping the ball on the ground 35 times compared to 23 passing attempts, picking up over five yards per carry, 201 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

However, after allowing 94 rushing yards in the first quarter, the run defense did show signs of improvement the rest of the way. After the game, Staley said he felt like they found the correct personnel grouping that faired best against the run as the game continued on.

"I think our guys just settled in and we got into the right personnel groupings that we felt like would match up with those guys," Staley said. "I just felt like our guys really communicated, stay connected, and we did a good job of tackling after that and kept the ball in front of us and then put a roof over the coverage.

"Didn't let them get any plays in the deep part of the field, so we have taken away the passing game, and then we could really put our attention to the run game. They are a really good running team, and we try to do our best to, after that first series, to kind of flush that one and come back and play good ball."

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Nicholas Cothrel
NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel is the publisher for Charger Report, covering the Los Angeles Chargers for Sports Illustrated.  You can follow Nick on Twitter @NickCothrel.

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