3 winners, 2 losers from Chargers-Saints

The Chargers took care of the game against the lowly Saints at home, dominating with a 26-8 victory.

Justin Herbert had another strong day in the air thanks to an incredible day from rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey. Defensively, the Chargers held the Saints to single digits and sacked their quarterbacks five times.

It was a comprehensive victory that still gave the offense plenty of room to develop further under Greg Roman.

Here are this week's winners and losers.

winner

WR Ladd McConkey

Have a nice day, Ladd!

McConkey finally had the breakout game many had been waiting for on Sunday against the Saints, thanks to a six-catch, 111-yard performance that also saw him reach the end zone twice. Of course, all of the numbers were career highs.

Herbert needed that “best friend” in the passing game and McConkey officially secured that title by stepping up the offense this week. Not only did he nail his hard holds in the short and medium ranges, McConkey also showed he could do the deep hold and then add even more sugar.

For the first touchdown of the day, the rookie caught the ball just 25 yards down the field before weaving through the Saints secondary for the final 35 yards. His second score was a hard reach into the back corner of the end zone over the head of a Saints defender, where he had to hold on to the ball just long enough to register the touchdown before it was knocked out of his hands.

We hope this positive momentum continues for the rookie on his road trip to Cleveland this week!

QB Justin Herbert

With the running game once again not going as Jim Harbaugh expected, the Chargers focused on Justin Herbert and the passing game, who along with Ladd McConkey closed out the game on Sunday thanks to another strong performance.

With 279 yards and two scores against New Orleans, Herbert has now thrown for 628 yards in his last two outings, a number that exceeds his total in his first four games combined.

To further illustrate how well Herbert is currently playing, his 95.3 game grade at Pro Football Focus is his highest single game grade of his entire career. He achieved his season-high mark the week before against the Cardinals (89.7). Is it just a coincidence that his two best games came when he was allowed to sling the ball? I'll let you decide.

S Elijah Molden

They won't show up in the final score, but Molden essentially blocked two passes, both of which were taken away from him through no fault of his own.

The first possible advantage was a deflected pass from Saints tight end Taysom Hill, which Molden appeared to have picked up before it hit the ground. The play was ruled an incomplete pass, but Jim Harbaugh saw enough on the replay to challenge the call.

In my honest opinion, the officials got this wrong in the initial decision and then doubled down by deciding that the decision would stand after the appeal. Molden got both arms under the ball, the ball didn't move when it hit the ground, but it was still called incomplete.

loser

EDGE Bud Dupree

Over the last few weeks, it's become increasingly obvious why Dupree hasn't lived up to his first-round success or found a consistent home in the NFL.

On Sunday, Dupree made two rash plays, both of which led to positive results for the Saints. First, he tried twice to knock the ball out of Alvin Kamara's grasp while already wrapping up the running back for a minimal gain. Not only did Dupree fail to displace the ball, Kamara also managed to break out of the tackle attempt and secure a chunk gain and a first down.

The second error occurred at the end of regulation when quarterback Jake Haener threw an interception to Molden as time expired. The game should have ended, but Dupree decided to impale Haener with his helmet near the head, and the Saints scored again to put more points on the field during an untimed down.

Yes, the game actually had no bearing on who won the game, but seeing a veteran do something so useless and dangerous at the end of a victory was simply inexcusable.

Just add this to the growing list of stupid mistakes Dupree has made this season.

The Punt Operation

There's not much to say here other than this group needs to step up their communication because what we saw early in Sunday's game was a disaster that was only made worse by the special teams mistake that cost them a safety.

On replay, it looked like Harris was shooting one way while JK Scott expected the ball to go the other way. When Harris snapped, Scott initially stepped away from the ball, causing it to deflect off his hands into the end zone. If it weren't for Hassan Haskins, the Saints might have gotten it back for a point, but the special teamer threw it out of bounds.

Aside from the mishap, Scott did a really good punting job. He had a few bombs, so he still deserves our praise here.