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While some might not feel that way due to its sheer brutality, American football can be a thinking man’s game. That could be why when Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh channels philosophy in his coaching. After the Chargers’ latest loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Harbaugh called upon the wisdom of the late Nelson Mandela to provide insight into where his team stands.
“There’s a taste in the mouth. You got to suck it up. And not really much to talk about,” Harbaugh said. “Nelson Mandela said, ‘I don’t lose. I either win or I learn.’ And to me what that means is, you know, let’s make sure we learn from things that happen and let that make us better as opposed to any kind of deflecting.”
learn from it. pic.twitter.com/Q4UuqoTAHV
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 22, 2024
Under Harbaugh, the Chargers built their roster to dominate a game like this. The Cardinals entered Monday night with one of the worst run defenses in football. They had given up at least 130 yards in five of their six games before facing the Chargers. So what did Los Angeles manage to muster on the ground? The Chargers only managed 51 yards on 20 designed rushes. So, while the philosophy might be sound, it isn’t effective on the field as Los Angeles struggles on offense.
To add insult to injury, Arizona came into the game allowing the sixth-most yards per game in the NFL (373.3) and the fifth-highest points per game (27.2). Monday’s outing was the first in which the Cardinals didn’t allow an offensive touchdown since Week 7 of 2021. The Chargers made it to the red zone only once Monday and settled for five field goals from kicker Cameron Dicker, including from a career-long 59 yards in the first quarter.
The Chargers struggling to get points has been a theme this season. Los Angeles hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in the second half of a game since Week 1, and Monday night’s performance against Arizona was perhaps the team’s worst of the season. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert can only do so much to carry Los Angeles. But, even if Herbert is at his very best, it’s still not good enough for the Chargers to find consistency on offense.
“I thought we did a lot of good things, but we’ve got to score points in the red zone,” Herbert said.
“We’ve got to do a better job for our defense, for our special teams.”
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