https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/lists/chargers-bears-takeaways-justin-herbert-austin-ekeler/

Alex Katson
October 29, 2023 9:55 pm PT

Chargers games frequently make people tired, so the weariness pervading
the fanbase after Sunday’s win over Chicago came as no surprise. What
did was the way in which Los Angeles cast the spell: normally the
exhaustion is borne out of frustration with a team incapable of keeping
their foot on the gas. Sunday’s contest was sleepy because the
wire-to-wire victory was defined by a complete performance that left no
room for typical Chargers shenanigans.

Here’s what to take away from the win.

It's nice to be normal

There was almost never a point at which it felt like LA was going to
lose this game. Almost never, because the first play of the game was a
41 yard deep shot to Bears receiver Darnell Mooney that threatened to
make things very scary early on. But the Chargers forced Chicago to go
three and out after the big play and marched down the field for a
touchdown. The Bears went three and out on the following drive and LA
responded with another touchdown. A Tyson Bagent interception led to a
field goal, and the 17 point cushion proved to be all that was needed.

Overall, it looked like the Chargers were the much better team on Sunday
night. Because they were! Justin Herbert threw only 9 incompletions,
Austin Ekeler had 123 yards from scrimmage, and Keenan Allen had eight
receptions. Derwin James had an interception and a penalty-free game and
Joey Bosa had a sack. LA’s stars played like stars, all at once, and it
led to the most complete Chargers win in recent memory.

That’s partly what lulled fans to sleep by the second half – talented
teams like the Chargers have games like this, where their stars
overwhelm an inferior squad. It’s just shocking to see it from Los
Angeles. Pleasant, but shocking.

Elevated edge play

Joey Bosa came off the injury report this week after working through a
hamstring issue and a broken toe. While he played through both ailments,
he clearly wasn’t playing to the level fans have come to expect of the
former #3 overall pick.

Well, it appears that Bosa is not only healthy, but he heard the
criticism. The 2016 Defensive Rookie of the Year had arguably his best
game of the season on Sunday, bulldozing Bears guard Cody Whitehair for
a sack on the first drive and adding another QB hit as a rusher. In the
run game, Bosa had a stop on fourth down and multiple backside pursuits
that nullified Chicago’s plan of attack.

Khalil Mack had an equally impactful game against the run even if the
box score didn’t show it. Mack also sniffed out a Bears trick play in
the red zone, running with Bagent up the sideline on a wide receiver
pass that Darnell Mooney had to tuck and run instead. Rookie Tuli
Tuipulotu added just one tackle but was active in the pile when Bears
running back Roschon Johnson fumbled. Chris Rumph stonewalled D’Onta
Foreman on a 3rd and 2 that led to Asante Samuel’s not-quite
interception on fourth down.

Bosa rounding back into form with Mack and Tuipulotu playing the way
they have to start the season could be a game-changer for a Chargers
defense that has already been massively improved against the run. But if
teams have to block all three of them on pass downs, Los Angeles could
finally get the pressure to help out their struggling secondary.

Quentin Johnston is alive

Johnston didn’t break the bank by any means on Sunday, finishing with 5
catches for 50 yards. But that still nearly doubled his output through
six games, as he entered the game with 7 catches for 64 yards.

It took Joshua Palmer reinjuring his knee early in the second quarter,
but the most encouraging thing about Johnston’s involvement was that the
Chargers were putting him in positions to be successful for what felt
like the first time all season. There were screens and shallow crosses
designed to maximize his run after catch ability, which generated a 12
yard catch and run that included Johnston breaking three tackles. LA
sent Johnston vertical, forcing the Bears to respect his downfield
speed, before hitting him on back shoulder throws where he didn’t have
to be Mike Williams to make the catch.

Los Angeles still has a long way to go to make their investment in
Johnston worth the price of admission, but Sunday was a start. The
rookie is clearly not built to be Williams’ replacement – that’s Palmer
– and it felt like this game was the first time the Chargers made that
admission. Working the ball to him in the ways that he can win reps is a
welcome change.

Speed limit

Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room: the Bears are not very
good. It’s nice that the Chargers took care of business against them,
yes, but it probably doesn’t lend itself to any sort of large-scale
conclusions about where this season is going.

Los Angeles struggled against two good teams – the Chiefs and Cowboys –
immediately before this game. Conclusions about those two contests were
probably also not reasonable, given that the reactions were largely that
the Chargers’ season was essentially over. After this win, the easy
thing to do is put Los Angeles back in playoff contention. The truth
probably lies somewhere in the middle: the Chargers are good enough to
beat bad teams (except Tennessee, ignore those guys). They’re also not
good enough to hang with the upper crust of contenders in the NFL
consistently at this stage.

With games against the Jets, Packers, Patriots, Broncos, and Raiders
upcoming, the Chargers have a number of bad to very bad teams that they
can beat up on as long as they show up to play. But there are also games
against the Lions, Ravens and Bills, ones that they’ll struggle with
unless they hit on every cylinder. That’s the rollercoaster of watching
the Chargers play football; until then it’s best to just enjoy a solid win.