What happened Sunday perfectly illustrates how inconsistent the offense has been this season. They put up 256 yards in the first half but managed only nine yards in the third quarter. In fact, Justin Herbert didn't have a completion in the third quarter.
He threw for only 32 yards in the second half.
The Chargers beat the Cleveland Browns 27-10 to get to 5-3 on the season, but the offense's inconsistency is their kryptonite.
The box score after the victory looks nice, with Herbert going 18-for-27 for 282 yards and two touchdowns. JK Dobbins rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Or hey, second-year receiver Quentin Johnston having a career game with four catches for 118 yards and one touchdown. But most of this happened in the first half.
The Chargers offense got some juice when a returning Derius Davis from injury took the first punt for a 53-yard return to set up the offense at the Cleveland 30-yard line.
Herbert faced a 3rd-and-21 after Harris and Tomlinson sacked him; Joshua Palmer was found wide-open in the end zone for his first touchdown of the season after a blown coverage.
Two offensive drives later, Herbert faced a 3rd-and-6 when he found a wide-open Johnston for a 66-yard reception to increase the lead to 13-3.
Following offensive drive, Herbert drove the Chargers offense to the Cleveland 16-yard line after completing 21 to Johnston and 19 yards to McConkey. Running back JK Dobbins followed his blockers on the next play to find the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown and his fifth of the season to give them a 20-3 lead.
After that, they managed a 7-yard touchdown run by Dobbins with 4:16 left in the game as their only score.
The Chargers' defense kept them in the game because Cleveland had 104 yards in the third quarter, but the defense forced two interceptions, one punt, and one turnover on downs.
Jesse Minter's defensive unit is truly relentless.
The Browns offense had a lot of momentum coming into Sunday's game after Jameis Winston threw for 334 passing yards, three touchdowns, and eating a W against the Baltimore Ravens.
It was nothing like that on Sunday for Winston. He threw for 235 yards, one late touchdown, and three interceptions for a QB rating of 50.5.
Minter's defense sacked Winston four times in the first half, and Morgan Fox got two. In the second half, the Chargers defense had three interceptions, two sacks, one turnover on downs and one punt.
Overall, the defense sacked Winston six times, causing him to throw three interceptions and only score ten points.
Second-year edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu had 2.5 sacks, Fox had two and Khalil Mack had his 4.5 sack of the season.
One of the best plays by the defense came out of the half. Winston took his offense on the biggest drive of the game, going 65 yards on 14 plays. He faced 2nd-and-goal when he thought he had Jerry Jeudy in the corner of the end zone, but rookie cornerback Tarheeb Still was there to knock the ball to teammate Elijah Molden for his third interception of the season.
The defense deserves a lot of credit for holding on and battling against a formidable offense.
What was worrisome on Sunday was that the Chargers offensive line allowed Herbert to be sacked six times. Myles Garrett came into Sunday's game with a four-game sack drought, which was no longer there. He beat Rashawn Slater for two and rookie Joe Alt for one. Garrett hit Herbert five times, while the Browns hit him 11 times.
The inconsistency on offense will not work in their favor the way it did on Sunday if they have to face a top NFL team.
All eyes will be on the Chargers for the next two days, as the trade deadline is Tuesday afternoon. They need to make an offensive move, whether for a guard, running back, tight end or receiver. An addition is severely needed.
They will face the Tennessee Titans, who just beat the New England Patriots in overtime. Then, they face a gauntlet of offensive teams: the Bengals, Ravens, Falcons, and Chiefs.
They must be more consistent on offense if they will continue to improve and make a run in the winter to play in the playoffs come January.