The third preseason game for the Los Angeles Chargers Cheap Derwin James Jersey , also known as the annual “dress rehearsal,” has come and gone with the home team losing 36-7 to the New Orleans Saints. While the score certainly isn’t very pretty, I don’t think things are quite as bleak as a 29-point loss might otherwise suggest.The truth is, the Chargers starters played pretty well on both sides of the ball. The offense, in particular, put together two solid drives against a talented and well-coached New Orleans defense – even if one ended when Rivers failed to connect with Mike Williams on a fourth-and-goal jump ball. Meanwhile, the first team defense intercepted Drew Brees and limited the Saints to a touchdown and two field goals in three red zone trips.Let’s take a look at some of the things that stood out to me – both good and bad – in Saturday’s loss to the Saints:When in doubt, run left: Mike Pouncey, Dan Feeney, and Russell Okung look like a major strength for this offense. Austin Ekeler ran the ball six times for 50 yards during the first two drives, including four carries for 38 yards behind the left side of the line. Pouncey, Feeney, and Okung didn’t just control the line of scrimmage, they owned it, and Ken Whisenhunt wasn’t the least bit shy about leaning on them. This is going to be a fun group to watch during the regular season.Austin Ekeler – RB1?: With Melvin Gordon unavailable on Saturday, Austin Ekeler started the game and was the focal point of each of the Chargers’ first two drives. Ken Whisenhunt called Ekeler’s number nine times in the team’s first seventeen offensive plays and was rewarded with 63 total yards. While I’m half-kidding when I suggest Ekeler is RB1, his vision, burst, elusiveness, and hands out of the backfield might have him ready to take on a much larger role this year. He looked fantastic.A glimpse of things to come?: The Chargers’ first drive may have revealed a new, more aggressive attitude on the part of head coach Anthony Lynn. Faced with a fourth-and-goal from the Saints four-yard line, Lynn eschewed a chip-shot field goal in favor of a jump ball for Mike Williams. Granted, Williams didn’t get open and the Chargers failed to convert, but it’s pretty telling that Lynn opted to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking the ball with a somewhat murky kicking competition taking place in camp. It seems like a big vote of confidence for Mike Williams in what has been a preseason of baby steps for the former #7 overall pick.Detrez is the man: There is little doubt at this point that Detrez Newsome is the favorite to win the third-string running back job. While his stats on Saturday certainly weren’t eye-popping, he finished with 14 touches for 44 yards and an eight-yard touchdown run. Newsome strikes me as the ideal complement to Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler and, for the first time in years, the Chargers appear to have a dynamic and versatile three-man backfield. Detrez earned it.JJ just misses: The fact that Travis Benjamin and Desmond King served as the primary return men on Saturday probably suggests Jones won’t make the roster. JJ simply isn’t an NFL wide receiver and, even with his potential as a return specialist, I the coaches likely can’t justify keeping seven receivers if the seventh man can’t at least break camp as the primary return specialist. That said Cheap Melvin Gordon Jersey , it wouldn’t surprise me if the team tries to protect him by including him on the initial 53-man roster with the intention of transferring him to the practice squad after the rest of the league has announced their practice squads. He could serve as a “placeholder” for an Antonio Gates signing, assuming the team ultimately brings him in.It’s Gates time: The Chargers played a third straight game in which their tight ends struggled to contribute as targets in the passing game. Sean Culkin caught his lone target for a seven-yard gain, but the group was otherwise invisible in the passing game. While I don’t think adding Antonio Gates changes much for this position group in terms of consistent playmaking ability, I do think his signing is probably inevitable. With that in mind, let’s get it done, already, so we can stop talking about it.Let Pooh Bear eat: Derwin James started his first game as a Charger and celebrated with an interception, a couple big hits, and a couple third down stops. Derwin showed a bit of everything you look for in a free safety when he intercepted Drew Brees on the third play of the game, including anticipation, range and electric ball skills. He’s arguably the best athlete on the team and possesses the best natural ball skills of any safety on the roster. He’s also the only safety on the roster capable of making that play. Stick James back there and good things will happen.White-out at WILL:Derwin James wasn’t the only rookie to start his first game as a Charger, as fourth-round pick Kyzir White got the nod at weakside linebacker (WILL). While he didn’t make any splash plays, White looked really good in man coverage, made a couple stops in the run game, and didn’t miss any tackles. I think he needs to work on how he reacts to play-action (a little too aggressive) and he seemed to be thinking a little out there, but it wasn’t bad for a rookie who missed the second preseason game.Brown on the bubble?: Jatavis Brown looked lost against the Saints. After making consecutive run stops to start the third quarter, Brown promptly missed his next seven tackle attempts, including an embarrassing whiff on Taysom Hill at the goal line. His reads were inconsistent, his angles were extremely poor and he was routinely beat to the edge. He looked even worse than Dwight Lowery did against the 49ers last preseason – right before he got cut. While I’m not totally convinced he’ll get cut, I think next week could ultimately decide Jatavis’ fate.Mager is in: It’s becoming pretty apparent that Craig Mager has the fifth cornerback spot on lockdown. He started the game opposite Michael Davis on the boundary, then played well into the third quarter while rotating inside to the slot. Mager went a third straight game without being targeted and I thought he played with solid technique and was generally in good position. Outside of eating a nasty stiff arm from Michael Thomas in the second quarter, Craig didn’t do anything to make me think he’s going to relinquish his hold on what figures to be the fifth and final spot on the depth chart.Chargers eliminate the dirty laundry: I thought the team executed more efficiently in all three phases of the game against the Saints and, most importantly, they more or less eliminated the mental and physical errors that led to 28 penalties over the first two preseason games. Granted, some of that is the direct result of getting the starters extended snaps, but the team definitely played its cleanest preseason game to date. In addition to avoiding major injuries, that’s the best possible outcome from the third preseason game.Well, those are my notes from the Chargers third preseason game. Overall, I thought the starters played pretty well on offense and defense Cheap Philip Rivers Jersey , the majority of the camp battles have come to their conclusion, and the Bolts cleaned up the stupid mistakes they made through the first two preseason games. All in all, it was a pretty successful dress rehearsal for the starters. Don’t even get me started on the backups. The Los Angeles Chargers' offense was stuck in neutral for the first 25 minutes of Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders. A broken play provided the needed spark.The game was tied 3-3 until Austin Ekeler took Philip Rivers' swing pass and turned into a 44-yard touchdown . That was part of 19 straight points by the Chargers en route to their 26-10 victory over the Raiders."We were doing OK. We weren't playing great but that kind of sparked it," said Rivers, who threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns. "We got another stop and then punched it in. I felt then we were in control the rest of the way."Rivers bobbled the shotgun snap on the first-and-10 play, but quickly corralled it and got it to Ekeler while three Oakland players were blitzing. The second-year running back eluded two Raiders at the 40 and then got a good block from Keenan Allen up the left sideline to score his third touchdown of the season with 4:04 remaining in the second quarter."I just saw the pressure coming off the edge. And it was a hot call, so it was coming to me right away," Ekeler said. "I just ended up catching the ball and looking downfield from there."The Ekeler touchdown was one of four plays of 25 yards or more for the Chargers (3-2), who are third in the league with 29 plays of 20 yards or more; the Rams and Chiefs each have 30.All of that added up to Rivers' 59th 300-yard passing game of his 15-year career and his eighth against the Raiders. He completed 22 of 27 passes and had a passer rating of 143.4.Melvin Gordon had 120 yards from scrimmage (58 rushing, 62 receiving). His 1-yard run during the second quarter gave Los Angeles (3-2) a 17-3 lead at halftime. The scoring drive started after Jahleel Addae recovered a Martavis Bryant fumble at the Raiders 45.The Chargers' defense had three sacks and forced two turnovers which resulted in 13 points. Oakland's Marshawn Lynch came into the game fourth in the league in rushing but was held to 31 yards on nine carries."It's an energy game, man, and you got good energy built all around you, that's what it is all about," Gordon said. "We got to feel off that. That's how we become a great team."Derek Carr was 24 of 33 for 268 yards for the Raiders (1-4). He accounted for Oakland's lone touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard pass to Jordy Nelson which brought the Raiders within 26-10.He also had a costly interception in the end zone to Melvin Ingram during the third quarter. The Chargers turned that into a 96-yard, eight-play drive that was capped with Rivers' 13-yard TD pass to Virgil Green early in the fourth period."We had bad plays today," Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. "I think we pressed a little bit. The play calling needs to improve. That's my job. We've got to play better collectively than we did today."HOME SWEET HOME?The crowd at StubHub Center was predominantly Raiders fans, but it didn't matter to the Chargers, who have won seven of their last eight at their temporary home until the new stadium at Inglewood opens in 2020.In order to silence their "home" crowd, the Chargers did take the ball on offense after they won the coin toss. They turned that into a seven-play drive and a 49-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis.TWO FIRSTS FOR INGRAMIngram's third-quarter interception was his first in 82 regular-season games. He did have an interception in the 2013 playoffs against Cincinnati.The seventh-year defensive end also got his first NFL carry in the second quarter on second-and-goal from the Oakland 1 but was stopped for no gain."I touch the ball all the time in practice. It was just fun," Ingram said. "Being in the offensive huddle it felt like I was at home."NEW HOLDER, SAME RESULTThe Chargers signed punter Donnie Jones to be the new holder for Sturgis, but Sturgis still missed an extra point.Sturgis' PAT attempt after the Green touchdown bounced off the upright for his fourth miss of the season and third in the past two games. The sixth-year kicker has missed four extra points this season, equaling the amount he had over three seasons in Philadelphia from 2015-17.Sturgis was also 2 of 3 on field goals. His 48-yard attempt on the last play of the first half was on line until it veered wide left at the last moment."The extra point did bother me a little bit, but we'll figure out what happened there," Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. "He's been kicking with a lot of confidence, so I'm not concerned about it."UP NEXTRaiders: face Seahawks next Sunday in London.Chargers: at Browns next Sunday.Follow Joe Reedy at joereedy
