PACKERVILLE, U.S.A.: Chargers at Packers Preview

The Chargers vs. Packers Week 11 Preview is HERE.

Chargers’ defense seeks redemption while Packers’ offense aims for better finishes

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (4-5) at GREEN BAY (3-6)

DAY / TIME / TV: Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox

OPENING LINE: Chargers by 3, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Chargers 4-5; Packers 4-5

SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 10-2

LAST MEETING: Chargers beat Packers 26-11 in Los Angeles on Nov. 3, 2019.

LAST WEEK: Chargers lost 41-38 at home to Detroit Lions; Packers lost 23-19 at Pittsburgh.

CHARGERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (11), RUSH (22), PASS (8), SCORING (7)

CHARGERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (31), RUSH (12), PASS (32), SCORING (24)

PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (21), PASS (19), SCORING (21)

PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (11), RUSH (27), PASS (7), SCORING (11-T)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Chargers plus-8; Packers minus-4

Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James is still feeling the sting that comes from losing a game in which his team’s offense had scored touchdowns on its last five possessions. James and the rest of the Chargers’ defense head to Lambeau Field wanting to make amends for the way they performed in a 41-38 loss to the Detroit Lions. “My name is on it,” James said. “Everyone’s name is one it. I don’t like the way it feels. Like I said, we’ll get another opportunity this Sunday to change that. That’s what we’re looking forward to.”

The Chargers (4-5) will be facing a Green Bay team that’s starting to shed its reputation for slow starts. Now the Packers (3-6) need to become better finishers. After scoring a total of 16 first-half points in a six-game stretch, the Packers reached the end zone on two of their first three drives Sunday while falling 23-19 at Pittsburgh. They lost due in part to their struggles whenever they got near the goal line. The Packers have scored touchdowns on just two of nine trips to the red zone over their last two games.

Green Bay knows it can’t waste opportunities against the Chargers, who have averaged 31.7 points over their last three games but are ranked 31st in total defense. The Packers haven’t exceeded the 20-point mark since a 25-24 loss in Atlanta way back on Sept. 17. “Every game, you’ve got to have that mindset that you never know what they’re going to do offensively, but you’ve always got to be able to match them and obviously go one step above,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said. “And when the defense gets a stop, we’ve got to go capitalize on that, put up points. But that’s kind of the mindset we’re always ready for, is we’ve got to really just going forward, we’ve got to be able to put up points on every drive, just kind of focus on doing us, focus on what we’re doing.”

RUNNING BACK WATCH

Chargers running back Austin Ekeler was sidelined for a month due to ankle injury, but he has started to return to form over the past three games. He has become more of a receiving threat out of the backfield with 13 of his 22 receptions occurring over that span. Ekeler, who led the league with 18 scrimmage touchdowns (13 rushing, five receiving) last season, has reached the end zone four times in the last three weeks. For Green Bay, Aaron Jones is coming off a subpar performance in which he was held to 35 yards on 13 carries. AJ Dillon has come on lately, as he has 110 yards on 18 carries over his last two games.

QUARTERBACK CONNECTIONS

Love and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert know each other well, at least in part because of their college ties to David Yost. Yost was Oregon’s quarterbacks coach during Herbert’s freshman year with the Ducks and later was Love’s offensive coordinator at Utah State. “We train together in the offseason at the same place,” Love said. “We trained together coming out at the combine. He’s a great dude. He’s fantastic. I think he’s balled out.”

SECONDARY WOES

Los Angeles comes in with the league’s worst pass defense, allowing 291.2 yards per game. The Chargers and Washington are the only two teams in the league to have two cornerbacks in the top 10 in most yards allowed as the nearest defender in coverage. According to the league’s Next Gen Stats, Asante Samuel has allowed 566 yards, which is second most. Michael Davis is seventh at 477 yards. Overall, opposing receivers have been wide open at a 25.8% rate, the sixth-highest percentage in the league.

RISING ROOKIES

The Packers continue to rely heavily on their rookie class, particularly in the passing game. Jayden Reed, a second-round pick from Michigan State, has a team-high 417 yards receiving. Reed had five catches for 84 yards, tight end and second-round selection Luke Musgrave had two receptions for 64 yards and fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks had three catches for 51 yards against the Steelers. That marked the first time in Packers history that three rookies had at least 50 yards receiving in the same game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

RARE TRIP TO LAMBEAU

This marks the Chargers’ first trip to Lambeau Field since a 27-20 loss to the Packers on 2015. That was a wild game in which the Chargers’ Philip Rivers threw for 503 yards, but the Packers sealed the win with a fourth-and-goal stop from the 3 with 15 seconds left. The Chargers haven’t won at Lambeau Field since 1984 but have only played here three times since.

CHARGERS PLAYER TO WATCH

QB Justin Herbert passed for 323 yards and four touchdowns last week in a loss. He has at least three TD passes and a passer rating of 110 in two of his past three games.

PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH

WR Jayden Reed, a rookie second-round pick from Michigan State, is developing into one of the most intriguing playmakers in the Packers’ young offense. Reed caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers, the second time in three games he has had at least 83 yards receiving. Reed has seven receptions of at least 30 yards this season. Only Miami’s Tyreek Hill has more.

KEY MATCHUP

Herbert vs. Packers secondary: Green Bay has been dealing with multiple injuries in its secondary, but has allowed just 119 yards passing in each of its past two games. The opposing quarterbacks in those games were Brett Rypien and Kenny Pickett. Herbert obviously offers a significantly tougher challenge.

KEY INJURIES

Chargers TE Gerald Everett’s status is uncertain because of a back problem… Chargers WR Keenan Allen is dealing with a shoulder issue but is expected to play… Packers CB Eric Stokes (hamstring) and S Darnell Savage (calf) are on injured reserve and must miss at least one more game… Packers LB Quay Walker (groin) has missed two straight games, but was practicing on a limited basis this week… Packers OT Yosh Nijman (back) and CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder) also didn’t play against the Steelers.

SERIES NOTES

The Chargers snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series with their 26-11 victory in 2019… The Chargers haven’t won at Lambeau Field since 1984 but have only played there three times since. This represents the Chargers’ first visit to Lambeau Field since a 27-20 loss to the Packers in 2015. The Packers allowed 503 yards passing to Philip Rivers that day, but won by making a fourth-and-goal stop from the 3 with 15 seconds remaining… This marks the first head-to-head coaching matchup between Los Angeles’ Brandon Staley and Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur.

STATS AND STUFF

The Chargers are 2-1 against the NFC North this season… The Chargers offense finished last week’s game against Detroit by scoring a touchdown on each of its last five drives. It was the first time since 2018 they had scored TDs on five straight possessions… The Chargers offense also is second in the league in red zone touchdown rate (72.4%)… Chargers RB Austin Ekeler is averaging 102.7 scrimmage yards and has scored four touchdowns in the past three games… Chargers WR Keenan Allen is tied for the league lead with 73 receptions and has at least eight catches in three straight games… Chargers WR Quentin Johnston, the Chargers’ first-round pick, caught his first NFL touchdown last week… Chargers LB Khalil Mack is tied for fifth in the league with nine sacks… Chargers LB Tuli Tuipulotu leads NFL rookies in tackles for loss (seven) and is second with four sacks… Chargers S Derwin James had a season-high 13 tackles last week… K Cameron Dicker has made 35 of 37 field goals since joining the Chargers last season… the Chargers’ Darius Davis leads the league with a 16.6-yard punt return average… the Packers have scored touchdowns on just two of their nine red zone possessions over the past two games… Sunday’s loss at Pittsburgh marked the first time in franchise history that the Packers had three rookies (Reed, Luke Musgrave and Dontayvion Wicks) with at least 50 yards receiving in the same game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau… Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon averages an NFL-leading 26.4 yards per kickoff return… the Packers are scoring 14.4 second-half points per game to rank behind only the Miami Dolphins. The Packers are averaging 5.4 first-half points per game to rank second to last in the league, ahead of only the New York Giants… Packers OLB Preston Smith has five sacks over his past five games… the Packers' 10-2 all-time record against the Chargers is their best against any current NFL team. It is tied for the seventh best among all head-to-head series between active franchises (minimum 10 meetings)… the Chargers are coming off a 41-38 loss to Detroit, falling to 0-2 this season when scoring more than 30 points. All other teams have a combined 48-7 (.873) record when scoring more than 30 this season, and Washington is the only other team to have multiple losses… Keenan Allen is coming off his 17th career game with at least 10 receptions and 100 yards receiving. The only players ever to have more are Andre Johnson (21), Antonio Brown (20), Davante Adams (18) and Julio Jones (18)… Green Bay has failed to score 21 points in seven straight games, the second-longest active streak behind the Giants (eight). It is the longest by the Packers since a 10-game streak between the 1990 and 1991 seasons during which Anthony Dilweg, Blair Kiel and Don Majkowski all started at quarterback… Aaron Jones surpassed 2000 career receiving yards in Week 10, joining Ezekiel Elliott, Melvin Gordon, Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey as the only active players to reach that milestone and 5000 rushing yards. The only other Packer ever to reach both is Ahman Green… the Packers have allowed fewer than 300 yards passing in 53 games since the start of 2020, second most in the NFL behind the Saints (55). Justin Herbert has 25 games with 300 yards passing since his 2020 rookie year, second most in the NFL behind Patrick Mahomes (27).