The Los Angeles Chargers introduced two of the Washington Football Team’s highly touted rookies to the professional side on Sunday, and it was not pretty.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert repeatedly threw at defensive back Benjamin St-Juste while offensive tackle Sam Cosmi struggled to contain all-pro defensive end Joey Bossa.
Washington dropped its season opener to the Chargers 20-16 before an announced crowd of 52,753.
“At the end of the day, that’s what teams do,” head coach Ron Rivera said of St-Juste’s performance. “Our counter has be, we have to play better or we have to go get him some help and we’ll take a nice long look at it and make sure we are giving him enough help or are putting him in position to win.”
St-Juste was hardly the only defensive player to turn in a disappointing performance. The Washington defense allowed Los Angeles to convert on 14 of 19 third-down attempts. Herbert finished the day, 31 of 47 for 337 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
“Blown assignments,” said defensive tackle, Johnathan Allen. “Rushers not, doing the little things that we’ve practiced. Defensively, especially the defensive line, I just think we need to play better.”
Los Angeles opened the game with a 10 play, 70-yard drive capped by an Austin Ekeler three-yard touchdown run to take an early 7-0 lead.
Washington would cut the lead to 7-6 on a pair of Dustin Hopkins field goals, one in the first quarter and another in the second as the veteran kicker ended a preseason slump by making three of his four field-goal attempts.
Midway through the second quarter, Washington lost starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to injury after being hit by Uchenna Nwosu. Fitzpatrick walked off the field with an injured hip. He will have an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury.
Backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke relieved Fitzpatrick and led Washington on a comeback. After driving the offense to a field goal at the end of the first half to make the score 13-9, Heinicke opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 81-yard drive, connecting with tight end Logan Thomas on an 11-yard touchdown pass to give Washington a 16-13 lead.
“I felt we did an ok job of moving the ball,” Heinicke said. “Just a couple details here and there… I think we shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times.”
The touchdown energized both the crowd and the team. Fans at Fed Ex Field chanted Heinicke’s name as the sixth-year vet from Old Dominion University seemed ready to top his January playoff performance against Tampa Bay.
Herbert rallied the Chargers, however, as the L.A. defense recovered a critical Antonio Gibson fumble on the Washington three-yard line early in the 4th quarter. Herbert found Mike Williams three plays later, wide-open after losing St-Juste in the end zone to give the Chargers the lead again 20-16.
Washington had a chance to answer. With the ball on the L.A. 40-yard line, Rivera chose to punt on 4th down and seven and let the defense get the ball back in good field position. The Chargers never gave them a chance as Herbert iced the game with a 16-play drive that ended with the second-year QB kneeling three times to end the game.
“The ugly head of not doing your job, not doing your responsibility,” Rivera said. “You’re responsible for something you’ve got to do it and you’ve got to trust the other guys are doing their jobs,” he said.
The loss makes Thursday night’s game against the New York Giants even more critical. Washington has road games against Buffalo and Atlanta after a short second week. A loss to New York would put the Burgundy and Gold in an 0-2 hole that could quickly grow, possibly dooming the season before it gets a chance to really start.
