Quarter by quarter: Seahawks fall 24-14 to Chargers in preseason

The Seahawks played their second game of the preseason Saturday night in Los Angeles against the Chargers, falling 24-14. Here’s a quarter-by-quarter look at the contest.

Final stats: Chargers 24, Seahawks 14

First quarter

Chargers 7, Seahawks 6

New wide receiver Jaron Brown appears to be a good fit for quarterback Russell Wilson. The former Cardinals wideout opened the game with a 29-yard reception on a play-action pass, putting Seattle inside L.A. territory after a penalty for lowering the head to initiate contact was levied on the Chargers. Brown added another long catch on the Seahawks’ second series, holding on to a 45-yard pass despite defensive pass interference, giving him a quick 74 yards on two receptions.

Running back Chris Carson was another standout for Seattle, finding the end zone on just the third play from scrimmage on a 23-yard run, but a block in the back call on rookie tight end Will Dissly nullified the score and put the Seahawks back at the 25. They had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Jason Myers, and Sebastian Janikowski hit from 25 in Seattle’s second series to account for its six points in the quarter.

The defense didn’t fare as well on the Chargers’ first series, as quarterback Philip Rivers led Los Angeles on a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive.

SEA – Jason Myers 33 FG, 11:05
LAC – Melvin Gordon 2 run (Roberto Aguayo kick), 5:52
SEA – Sebastian Janikowski 25 FG, 3:52

Second quarter

Chargers 14, Seahawks 6

Russell Wilson played the entire half, and while the Seahawks didn’t score any touchdowns, he was still plenty impressive. Wilson finished the half 13 of 21 passing for 193 yards, and new OC Brian Schottenheimer’s offense is proving to have more of a penchant for the deep ball than Darrell Bevell’s did in recent years.

The offense struggled as a whole, however, with a rough performance by left tackle Germain Ifedi standing out in particular. The 2016 first-round pick’s starting job would be in trouble if it weren’t for injuries to his main competition.

Fifth-round selection Michael Dickson continues to wow in the punt game. He walloped a sky high, 55-yard punt, setting up fellow rookie Shaquem Griffin for a big hit in coverage. Veteran Jon Ryan also had a strong punt to his credit, but he appeared to out-kick his coverage as the Chargers’ J.J. Jones returned it 72 yards to the house.

⚡️ 72-YARD PUNT RETURN TD ⚡️

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/c3s9IiymM1

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 19, 2018

LAC – J.J. Jones 72 punt return (Aguayo kick), 1:54

Third quarter

Chargers 21, Seahawks 6

Preseason football, am I right?

Not much good happened for the Seahawks in the third, with San Diego – sorry, old habit – Los Angeles pushing its lead to 15 points after a 25-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to Mike Williams.

On offense, Seattle managed just 11 yards on seven plays in the frame.

One player who stood out for Seattle was rookie defensive end Rasheem Green. One of the stars of the first preseason game last week, he made a nice play getting out to the flat to stop Chargers RB Detrez Newsome for a loss of 5.

LAC – Mike Williams 25 pass from Geno Smith (Aguayo kick), 9:22

Fourth quarter

Chargers 21, Seahawks 14

Once again, Green turned heads with his play. He came up with a sack, giving him 1.5 on the day and 3 for the preseason. The offense woke up for the Seahawks, too, with rookie QB Alex McGough opening a drive with a 20-yard pass to Cyril Grayson, who made a highlight reel catch to go up and get it. Three plays later, McGough connected with Malik Turner on a nice 12-yard pass in the end zone, then found Grayson for a two-point conversion to make it a one-score game.

The Chargers prolonged a drive long enough to hit one last field goal, however, and take a 10-point win.

SEA – Malik Turner 12 pass from Alex McGough (Cyril Grayson pass from McGough), 4:37
LAC – Aguayo 39 FG, 0:45

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