NASHVILLE — Chargers won the battle but lost the warrior.
They held off the Tennessee Titans. 27-20 but I saw their outstanding left tackle, Joe Alt fall with the same ankle injury as took him out of the game earlier this season.
It was a troubling and ominous blow to a franchise that constantly rotates its offensive line and fails to adequately protect its quarterback. Justin Herbert. Before losing Alt, the Chargers lost lineman Bobby Hart to a groin and calf injury.
Alt and Hart's status is unclear, but neither returned to the game. That's not a good sign for Herbert, who was hit 11 times and sacked six times by the Titans after entering Sunday as the most battered and harassed quarterback in the NFL.
“I don't know about deflation, but it's hard to see,” right tackle Trey Pipkins III said. “Our room is resilient – we're always going to pick it up. What we went through at the beginning of the season helps. Experience always helps.”
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh helps Bobby Hart on the offensive side of the field in the first half.
(John Amis/Associated Press)
On a cool and cloudy day, the Chargers had enough to get past the one-win Titans – the Chargers had a 9.5-point lead – but they would face much tougher competition in the second half of the season. The Titans haven't won at home since November 3 last year.
Herbert went through a pick-six on his second snap of the day, throwing for two touchdowns and running for a third. He was the best player in the game, which prompted Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh you can compare him to Hall of Fame running back Larry Csonka in the way he lowers his shoulder and runs through would-be tacklers.
What about the team as a whole?
“Dig deep, found a way,” Harbaugh said. “Just a gritty, great victory—maybe the most important thing is finding the way.”
Part of that journey was that the defense turned the Titans back at the half-yard line in the third quarter and the Chargers offense responded with a nine-minute, 99½-yard touchdown drive that took all the fun out of Nissan Stadium.
Chargers cornerback Justin Herbert was sacked by Tennessee Titans linebacker Jihad Ward on Sunday afternoon.
(George Walker IV/Associated Press)
This resulted in no gain on third-and-goal, fourth-and-goal from first. The first was a wild rush to running back Tony Pollard, and the second was a hit to Pollard's gut.
“They got into a wild situation, so I knew they were going to have the ball,” Chargers cornerback Elijah Molden said. “It's something you do a lot in practice but don't think will happen in a game, and then it does.”
It was a masterful play by the Chargers defense that kept the home team from setting up an easy field goal in the second half – and those two first-half touchdowns came on a pick-six and kickoff return. The Titans converted one of their nine third downs.
Right in the middle of this defensive play was the Chargers linebacker. Diane Henleywho was overcome by grief. With the team traveling to Tennessee on Friday, Henley was at the team hotel at 6 a.m. Saturday when he was awakened by a knock on the door from linebacker Denzel Perryman.
Chargers linebacker Diane Henley (left) tries to tackle Titans wide receiver Van Jefferson during the first half Sunday.
(George Walker IV/Associated Press)
“I thought I was late for a meeting or something,” Henley said, closing his eyes and speaking quietly and slowly. “I was shocked, thinking about football. He just told me, 'Call your mom.' So I called my mom and got the news.”
Henley's older brother, Jabari Henley, was shot on Halloween night in the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“Being transparent brought me to my knees,” Henley said. “For me, this is by far the biggest and most devastating thing that has ever happened to me. I've lost friends and family before, but to be so close to home… it's just hard to deal with.”
Although they were separated by nine years, Dayan said Jabari, 34, was his best friend.
“I'm hard to reach, but there are a few people I would answer the phone no matter what, or at least call back, and that was my older brother,” Henley said. “I have two older brothers. We have the same mother, the same father, from birth, in the same family. He was my best friend.
“I would call him my protector. He was our family's protector. So it was a big loss.”
The head of the family is Eugene “Big U” Henley, a music producer who helped launch the career of the late Nipsey Hussle. The elder Henley is an indicted leader of the Crips. federal charges filed in a large-scale criminal case.
As for Dyan Henley, he is one of the most popular and friendly Chargers players, loved by his teammates and the media. As he collected one of his team's four sacks on Sunday, he fell to his knees in prayer.
“I just wanted to be there for him every step of the way because… man, I don't even know,” teammate Derwin James Jr. said. “This guy has been through so much. He's our green dot. [signifying the on-field play caller wearing the helmet radio]our leader, our captain.
“It's tough for him to come out and fight. I have a lot of respect for him and I just wanted to play for him as hard as I can today. We just tried to rally around him. He's our brother.”
Henley said it never occurred to him to miss Sunday.
“The only thing that came into my head was rage. I was in a lot of pain. It was in a lot of pain.
“As big as it was, I just started thinking about everything that was going on in my life. I just wanted – I'm not saying anything crazy – but I just wanted to go out and let it out. Whatever I had inside, I wanted to get it out.
“I talked to my mom and my dad and they both said I should definitely go there and play. So I did.
“Now I just need to get home.”
