Eric Williams

NFC West Author

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Yes, it was just a warm-up game.

And in his first appearance as a head coach on the NFL sidelines in a decade, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh seemed to be in his element.

Wearing Jordan cleats and receiver gloves, the action-loving Harbaugh caught passes for his quarterbacks as they loosened up their arms during pregame warmups.

During the game, Harbaugh engaged in animated conversation with a group of referees after his defense scored a touchdown. Microphones recorded the conversation, with the 60-year-old pleading his case for what he described as a “blatant rim grab” on the play.

“It was a pretty good feeling,” Harbaugh said after the game about being out there. “I have to quote the old singing cowboy Gene Autry: ‘It was good to be back in the saddle.'”

However, with quarterback Justin Herbert still struggling with a foot injury and not expected to be able to get rid of his walking boot until Thursday at the earliest, the former NFL quarterback was unfortunately unable to return to his “Captain Comeback” days and take to the field for his team.

And after watching film of his team’s 16-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in his team’s opening game at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, Harbaugh will be primarily concerned with how to fix an offense that has consistently struggled to move the ball.

Led by backup quarterback Easton Stick, the Chargers managed a total of 21 yards in the team’s first six possessions, including five three-and-outs and no first downs. The Chargers had just two plays of over 20 yards, and a 58-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker accounted for the only points on the scoreboard.

Harbaugh stated the obvious, saying the offense needs to perform better even with Herbert, the team’s best player on that side of the ball, unavailable. The Oregon product is expected to be ready for the team’s season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 8 at SoFi.

“I thought our defense played winning football,” Harbaugh said. “I thought our special teams played winning football. And on offense, we underperformed.”

Stick, who has struggled in practice against his own defense and in joint practice with the Rams since the Chargers announced 10 days ago that Herbert was suffering from plantar fasciitis in his right foot, did not perform well against the Seahawks.

The North Dakota State product finished the game 5 of 13 passing for 31 yards. Stick was sacked twice and had no touchdown passes. He was intercepted by Seattle safety Coby Bryant on a pass that was deflected by tight end Hayden Hurst after a hard hit by Seattle defensive back K’Von Wallace.

Stick said the repetitions were good, but he needs to play better.

“It’s always a combination of a lot of things, but ultimately the execution is obviously not at a high enough level to get the ball moving,” Stick said of his team’s offensive problems. “That starts and ends with me, so it’s frustrating.”

Newcomer Luis Perez was the Chargers’ most productive quarterback. The former UFL product completed 5 of 12 for 61 yards on two drives in the fourth quarter.

Harbaugh did not rule out another quarterback being considered for the backup job behind Herbert, but Harbaugh said that was part of his team’s overall evaluation process for the entire roster.

“I’ll talk about controversies around the starting quarterback when it comes to the starting quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “I’ll be happy to have those discussions. I’m not going to have controversies around the left guard, the right guard or the backup quarterback. Or the third quarterback or the second running back.”

“You have my word if there ever is a quarterback controversy, which I absolutely do not expect, but you have my word that I will discuss it with all of you.”

While the offense struggled, the Chargers defense once again delivered a strong performance, including a second-half goal-line stand, three sacks and a pass defense that limited Seattle to 169 yards through the air.

Linebacker Nick Niemann led Los Angeles with 12 total tackles, including one for loss, one sack and two quarterback hits.

“It was kind of our first chance to put our brand on tape and show everybody who we are,” Niemann said. “We’re all new here, so people are going to look at us and wonder what we’re about. So I just tried to go out there, play hard and do the things we talked about – communicate, play physical, attack and do all those things.”

According to Harbaugh, right tackle Joe Alt, who was selected with the No. 5 overall pick, also looked solid. Alt did not allow a single sack in 21 offensive plays.

What are the expectations for the Chargers?

“It was a great feeling,” Alt said. “It’s always good to have your first small live performance with the group you have the most experience with. It was great to be out there with everyone and get that first performance behind us, so to speak.”

However, for the remainder of training camp and tryouts, Harbaugh will focus on finding a replacement quarterback to rejuvenate a stagnant offense without Herbert, the team’s best playmaker.

“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Harbaugh said. “Now we’ve started, which is positive. We have a starting point, but offensively there were some good things, but not nearly enough. So it’s back to work. You retool. You regroup. And on Monday, it’s back to work.”

Eric D. Williams has been covering the NFL for more than a decade and reports on Los Angeles Lakers for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the The Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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