DEFENSIVE BACK
These guys must be wondering if the Chargers watch film. Philip Rivers threw five passes in the first half despite facing the league's worst pass defense. Go figure. To be fair, Los Angeles only ran 19 plays in the first half, but with Stephon Gilmore and Eric Rowe inactive and only three cornerbacks available, the secondary should have been tested more. Wisely, Rivers went after Johnson Bademosi later and had some success, but the young corner was competitive the whole day. Bademosi wisely rode receiver Tyrell Williams out of bounds on a go route, rendering illegal his return to the field to catch a potential touchdown pass. He also was flagged for a 30-yard pass interference penalty. Malcolm Butler seldom was challenged but got caught peeking in the backfield and missed a jam on receiver Travis Benjamin, who ran by him on a go route for a 24yard touchdown. Butler looked at safety Devin McCourty as if he thought he should have had help. If he'd been paying attention to Benjamin, he wouldn't have missed the jam. Jonathan Jones was targeted twice and gave up nothing. He intercepted the game's final Hail Mary, but his best play was pinning Keenan Allen's elbows to his side after he got his fingers on a Rivers throw. Perfect technique. McCourty made several solid tackles in run support. Patrick Chung and McCourty did an effective job on tight ends Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates. Chung, McCourty and Butler all took bad tackling angles on Melvin Gordon's 87-yard touchdown run.