Los Angeles Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers: West Coast Teams Meet Up for SNF

Banged-up Chargers take on a 49ers team coming off of its bye with more weapons around recent acquisition Christian McCaffrey.

Author:
Tom Bowles
Publish date:
Nov 12, 2022

The San Francisco 49ers host the Los Angeles Chargers on "Sunday Night Football" hoping to keep the momentum rolling from an offense revitalized by new acquisition Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey’s just one game removed from becoming the 11th player in NFL history to throw, pass, and catch a touchdown in a thrilling 31-14 win in Week 8 over the Los Angeles Rams.

Now, the other L.A. team comes to town, armed with their own dynamic offensive scheme. But Justin Herbert’s development into one of the league’s premier quarterbacks has stalled out a bit this season. While some of that is due to injuries to some of his top offensive weapons, Herbert has also made uncharacteristic mistakes down the stretch. A fourth-quarter interception sealed the deal in a 27-24 Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs; and since that game, the Chargers' signal-caller has had just one QB rating of 100 or more in his last six outings.

Luckily for that "other" L.A. organization, an easy schedule has helped them hide a few glaring weaknesses on their way to a 5-3 start. But none of their victories is against a team with a winning record; four of those five wins were by five points or less.

That’s why the 49ers are such strong favorites despite a 4-4 record that includes losses to the Bears, Broncos and Falcons. As Jimmy Garoppolo gets comfortable under center and McCaffrey adds another option to the scheme, their offense is expected to explode during the second half of the season.

Can the Chargers be the latest team they’ll run over Sunday night?

Sunday Night Football: Los Angeles (5-3) at San Francisco (4-4)

Kickoff: Sunday, Nov. 13 at 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
Spread: 49ers -7
Tickets: As low as $142 on SITickets.com*

Three Things to Watch

1. Christian McCaffrey vs. Austin Ekeler
McCaffrey came into his own during his second week with San Francisco, rushing for 94 yards, passing for 34, and adding 55 receiving. His emergence came at the perfect time with Pro Bowl wide receiver Deebo Samuel missing the Rams game due to an injured hamstring. After an extra week of rest, he’s healthy and poised to add to a 49ers ground game that excels off the bye week during the Kyle Shanahan era, rushing for an average of 144 yards per game in those contests.

Can you imagine what it’s going to be like with all the 49ers' offensive weapons back on the field at 100 percent? Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle already benefitted from McCaffrey on the field, both catching touchdowns in a Rams game that was never in doubt.

“I understand this is a business,” McCaffrey said during the bye week. “But anytime somebody gets rid of you or something happens, you take it personally… It’s part of the league. It happens to coaches. It happens to players. It’s just more wood on the fire.”

The Chargers try and counter with Ekeler, whose 10 touchdowns overall (six rushing, four receiving) are tied with Cleveland’s Nick Chubb for the most in the NFL. But while Ekeler has had an impressive year, his scoring masks a 4.4 yards-per-carry average that’s dropped outside the top 10 in the AFC. Why? In the last three games, that average drops to just 3.1; Ekeler’s rushed for no more than 47 yards in any of them.

It’s bad timing considering the 49ers' defense is tops in the NFL against the run (86.1 ypg). If you’ve got Ekeler on your fantasy team, plan accordingly.

2. How will the Chargers' injuries hamper their offense?
Ekeler’s struggles have come as Justin Herbert remains without some of his top receiving options. Keenan Allen has played in just two of eight games this season and remains out with a hamstring issue. Mike Williams, who leads the team with 495 receiving yards, is expected to miss another two to four weeks with an ankle sprain.

That puts Herbert in a tough position, especially with teams able to focus on Ekeler. The Chargers are at least heartened by the emergence of Joshua Palmer, who put up a career-high 106 receiving yards against the Falcons last week.

Behind him? There’s tight end Gerald Everett, whose reliability (32 catches) has been offset with no touchdowns for over a month. And then… there’s not much else.

Somehow, Herbert has kept the Chargers a top-five passing offense during this stretch, posting 275.1 yards per game. But the 49ers counter with a top-10 passing defense (eighth) and are looking to capitalize on Herbert having to do too much himself. Three of his five interceptions have come in the last three weeks along with a fumble lost.

3. How will Jimmy Garoppolo evolve in the McCaffrey offense?
This question is one opposing NFC scouts will be watching closely. Jimmy G exploded against the Rams, posting 21 completions in 25 attempts for 235 yards and two touchdowns. The 132.5 passer rating was his best in a game since November 2021.

With all the attention on McCaffrey, people forgot how much that took the pressure off and put Jimmy G in the driver’s seat. Can a quarterback who hasn’t had a three-touchdown game since December 2020 reach another level with All-Pro-level offensive pieces around him?

The Chargers’ defense is 29th against the run, meaning McCaffrey and company will get the lion’s share of the attention on offense. But keep an eye on Jimmy G and how he’s able to manage the game. His performance is crucial for this team to build any type of long-term momentum toward the NFC West title.

Final Analysis

It feels like the Chargers have been a little bit of smoke and mirrors this season, an inconsistent team that’s been hard to figure out. The 49ers, meanwhile, are coming off a bye and have all systems in gear with the McCaffrey acquisition.

Expect a strong performance by a road team that’s beginning to dream Super Bowl in the wide-open NFC.