Chargers score on first five possessions in 30-13 win over Bears
From sputtering to strutting, the Chargers’ offense scored on its first five possessions Sunday night en route to a 30-13 victory over Chicago at SoFi Stadium.
The Chargers, after failing to top 17 points in back-to-back losses, opened a 24-7 halftime edge and then cruised as their defense bottled up the Bears and rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent, who was making his second career start.
Justin Herbert completed his first 15 pass attempts and finished 31 of 40 for 298 yards and three touchdowns.
His scoring tosses went to Austin Ekeler, Simi Fehoko and Donald Parham Jr. Ekeler had seven catches for a team-high 94 yards.
Chargers dominate Bears to snap two-game losing streak
🏈 Chargers 30, Bears 13 — FINAL
The Chargers snapped their two-game losing streak and kept their season afloat with an important win over the Bears at SoFi Stadium on Sunday night.
Justin Herbert completed 31 of 40 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Austin Ekeler had seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Chicago Bears rookie quarterback completed 25 of 37 passes for 232 yards, with two interceptions.
Bears find the end zone late in the fourth quarter
🏈 Chargers 30, Bears 13 — 2:12 left in the fourth quarter
Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent scored on a one-yard tush push, but failed to connect on a pass intended for Khari Blasingame on the two-point conversion attempt.
The Bears got the ball following a Chargers fumble.
Derwin James Jr. interception ruins another Bears drive
🏈 Chargers 30, Bears 7 — 8:54 left in the fourth quarter
Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. intercepted a pass on a deflection to stymie a potential Chicago Bears scoring chance and keep the Chargers firmly in control.
Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney was hit by safety Alohi Gilman as he tried to catch a pass over the middle from Tyson Bagent, popping out the ball into James’ hands.
It was the second interception thrown by Bagent, who has struggled against the Chargers’ secondary tonight.
Chargers kick another field goal after stopping Bears on fourth down
🏈 Chargers 30, Bears 7 — 2:32 left in the third quarter
Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa immediately pounced and wrapped up Bears running back Roschon Johnson on a fourth-and-one, giving the Chargers the ball at the Chicago 29. That eventually led to Cameron Dicker’s third field goal of the game — a 46-yarder to extend L.A.’s lead.
It wasn’t all great news for the Chargers. Justin Herbert also took a big hit from Chicago linebacker T.J. Edwards on third down and was grimacing as he walked off the field.
Chargers extend their lead on another Cameron Dicker field goal
🏈 Chargers 27, Bears 7 — 8:51 left in the third quarter
Cameron Dicker kicked a 53-yard field goal to extend the Chargers’ lead on their first possession of the second half. Dicker kicked a 43-yard field goal in the second quarter.
The field goal came after the Chargers’ 10-play, 40-yard drive, which included a 16-yard completion to Donald Parham Jr., stalled at the Chicago 35.
Chargers lead Bears 24-7 at halftime
🏈 Chargers 24, Bears 7 — HALFTIME
Justin Herbert connected with tight end Donald Parham Jr. on an 11-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left in the first half to give the Chargers a comfortable lead heading into the locker room.
Parham broke a tackle from cornerback Tyrique Stevenson to pull his 6-foot-8 frame into the end zone.
The nine-play, 75-yard drive only took 1 minute and 43 seconds. Austin Ekeler picked up 23 yards off a screen pass before a seven-yard completion to Keenan Allen put the Chargers into the red zone.
Herbert completed 21 of 25 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Ekeler has 91 yards and a touchdown on five catches.
Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent completed 10 of 15 passes for 121 yards and an interception in his second career NFL start.
Bears get on the scoreboard late in second quarter
🏈 Chargers 17, Bears 7 — 1:47 left in the second quarter
Chicago running back Darrynton Evans scored on a 11-yard touchdown run as the Bears finally found success on offense after some misfires.
The methodical, 14-play, 75-yard drive managed to keep moving despite wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. botching a prime scoring opportunity when he bobbled a 40-yard pass from Tyson Bagent in the end zone after breaking coverage.
Passes of 18 and 11 yards to DJ Moore helped fuel Chicago’s trek to the end zone. Bagent has completed 10 of 15 passes for 121 yards so far.
Chargers extend their lead on Cameron Dicker field goal
🏈 Chargers 17, Bears 0 — 8:50 left in the second quarter
Cameron Dicker kicked a 43-yard field goal to extend the Chargers’ lead following Ja’Sir Taylor’s interception.
The Chargers managed to pick up 32 yards after the pick before the Chicago pass rush forced Justin Herbert into an incomplete pass on third down.
Chargers’ Ja’Sir Taylor picks off Tyson Bagent
🏈 Chargers 14, Bears 0 — 12:45 left in the second
The Chargers defense continues to make life miserable for Bears rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent.
Chargers cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor picked off a pass from Bagent to end what was a slow moving, seven-play possession for Chicago. The pass appeared to come on a botched play, with Bagent throwing into open space, with Taylor reading the play perfectly.
Chargers take 14-0 lead on Simi Fehoko TD catch
🏈 Chargers 14, Bears 0 — 43 seconds left in the first quarter
Justin Herbert connected on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Simi Fehoko to extend the Chargers’ lead in the first quarter.
The pass ended an efficient nine-play, 55-yard drive that included a pair of nine-yard receptions by Joshua Palmer and a 13-yard catch by Austin Ekeler. Palmer limped off the field after his second catch and headed to the sideline medical tent.
Herbert is looking good so far despite the finger injury to his non-throwing hand. He has completed all 11 of his pass attempts for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Chargers strike first on Austin Ekeler’s 39-yard TD reception
🏈 Chargers 7, Bears 0 — 7:08 left in the first
Austin Ekeler scored on a 39-yard catch-and-run, avoiding a tackle at the line of scrimmage to win the sprint to the end zone and give the Chargers an early lead.
The touchdown capped a 10-play, 92-yard drive, with Ekeler catching two passes for 52 yards.
On the game’s first possession, Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent completed a 41-yard pass Darnell Mooney on the first play from scrimmage. Mooney made the diving grab despite being pushed by Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.
The big play didn’t lead to points, though. Joey Bosa sacked Bagent on third down, pushing the Bears out of field-goal range.
As Chargers’ season threatens to collapse, along comes a strangely dangerous team
The first threats arrived shortly after the ball hit the Jacksonville turf, the Chargers’ rookie bowing under the weight of disappointing an entire franchise and its fan base.
By the time Austin Ekeler reached his phone in the defeated visitors’ locker room, the social-media vitriol had exploded, not unlike a virus spreading. His fourth-quarter fumble spawned third-degree intensity.
“People were telling me to off myself,” Ekeler, now in his seventh season, recalled. “I was like, ‘Ah, OK.’ I learned really quick that there’s a lot of knuckleheads out there.”
A lot of passionate, maniacal and deeply invested knuckleheads, yes. Few things in sports ignite emotion quite like football does, especially the NFL version.
Chargers vs. Chicago Bears inactives
Here’s who won’t be playing for the Chargers against the Chicago Bears tonight:
Is Justin Herbert’s fractured finger related to Chargers’ broken offense?
He was asked about losing to Kansas City, about the challenges Chicago brings and about his finger.
To be exact, Justin Herbert was asked 14 questions about his finger Wednesday.
The Chargers’ quarterback might not be broken, but the middle digit on his left hand is, and the dissection of all that the injury means to this offense and this franchise continues to be intense.
Sitting at 2-4, the expectation-rich Chargers are under a microscope entering another game that isn’t mathematically a must-win but feels like a game they can’t afford to lose.
Chargers are only 2-4. ‘Nobody would have predicted that.’
Seven weeks into the NFL season, only two AFC teams — New England and Denver — have worse records than the Chargers, who sit at 2-4.
“Nobody would have predicted that,” safety Derwin James Jr. said of the rough start for a group expected to be a playoff contender.
“These last six games, we just gotta flush them,” James continued. “We got 11 more to go. We got a long season. Right now, it looks bad. But we gotta keep playing hard.”
The Chargers were smoked by Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce despite the presence of James, who played after entering Sunday as questionable because of an ankle injury.
Chargers vs. Bears matchups: How to watch, start time and prediction
Breaking down how the Chargers (2-4) and the Chicago Bears (2-5) match up heading into their game Sunday at 5:20 p.m. at SoFi Stadium. The game will be shown on NBC.
When Chargers have the ball
During Justin Herbert’s rookie year in 2020, in starts 10 and 11, the Chargers failed to top 17 points in losses to Buffalo (27-17) and New England (45-0). For the first time since, back-to-back games without eclipsing 17 in losses to Dallas (20-17) and Kansas City (31-17).
The offense under first-year coordinator Kellen Moore has underwhelmed of late, the Chargers struggling to protect Herbert and run with any consistency.
