Chargers starters watched Saturday night’s preseason finale from the sideline in street clothes.
Don’t blame them if they covered their faces and peered between the cracks of their fingers.
The backups provided some cringeworthy moments in a 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers — coach Jim Harbaugh’s old team — making some troubling gaffes in a sloppy second half in Santa Clara. In all, the teams combined for 23 penalties.
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“Preseason had been poised and clean, no turnovers the entire time, until tonight,” Harbaugh said. “Way too many turnovers, too many penalties. That combination doesn’t win football games. Special teams had too many penalties, we lost yardage there. Offense had penalties and turnovers. There was a lot of good, but the big mistakes were too much.”
There were some excellent performances (see: Chargers linebacker Marlowe Wax) but a lot of reasons for handwringing when it comes to the back half of the roster, which will be pared down to 53 players by Tuesday.
Some takeaways from the game:
Wax makes his roster case
With the roster deadline coming Tuesday, the undrafted Wax showed remarkably good timing.
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Wax made three outstanding plays in a row, each better than the last. The former captain at Syracuse came into the final preseason game with 15 tackles and one sack. On a series in the second quarter, he limited a swing pass to Isaac Guerendo to a one-yard gain, then stonewalled the 49ers running back at the line of scrimmage on the next play. Then, on third down, Wax shot a gap and had a strip sack of quarterback Tanner Mordecai.
Read more: Why Rashawn Slater’s absence will pose a massive test for Justin Herbert and Chargers
Later in the quarter, he dropped into coverage and nearly made a left-handed interception.
The Chargers’ need for depth at linebacker was underscored by Junior Colson slogging through hamstring and ankle injuries as a rookie last year, and Del’Shawn Phillips just coming off the physically unable to perform list.
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Capping his tremendous game, in the fourth quarter, he made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage on fourth down.
“He’s had a tremendous preseason,” Harbaugh said of Wax. “Excited about him.”
Grimm performance on returns
What a rough game for rookie returner Luke Grimm, who had a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Rams a week ago.
Grimm muffed two punts against the 49ers, withering turnovers that could not have come at a worse time for him.
Mercifully, Grimm did catch a touchdown pass with a minute left.
Read more: Whose house? Rams and Chargers fans debate which team is the ‘alphas’ of L.A.
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Not so Sharpe
Experienced players stumble too. Offensive tackle David Sharpe is with his eighth NFL team since 2017, mostly on practice squads. The well-traveled veteran could be on the move again, even though the Chargers need all the help they can get on the offensive line. He had a couple of notable mistakes in the first quarter, first allowing a pass rusher to slip around him and put a hit on quarterback Trey Lance, then jumping early into pass protection on a fourth-and-three and drawing a flag.
Lance didn’t seem as finely tuned in this one as he was in previous preseason games. Might have had something to do with him getting knocked on his back three times in the first quarter.
As to whether Lance has locked down the backup job to Justin Herbert, Harbaugh said: “I don’t want to make any proclamations here tonight, but he’s put himself in a really good position.
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“He’s been steady since he got here. I’ve probably been guilty of over-coaching him on a couple little things, but he’s very driven. That’s what I’ve really liked about being around him.”
Could Miller-Hines make the roster?
Chargers running back Nyheim Miller-Hines carries the ball against the 49ers on Saturday. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Running back/returner Nyheim Miller-Hines showed the explosiveness and burst that helped him make rosters earlier in his NFL career. He missed the past two seasons after sustaining a serious knee injury in a watercraft accident. He had a smooth punt return Saturday that was nullified by a penalty.
His performance was especially timely considering the Chargers have yet to get Najee Harris back on the field because of an eye injury.
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In an in-game interview with Joe Hortiz, the Chargers general manager told CBS: “Najee’s doing great. Going through all the medical processes and he’s on track. He should be able to go, hopefully, Week One.”
During that interview with Noah Eagle and Dan Fouts, Miller-Hines fumbled on a short run. He’s someone who understands the fragile nature of NFL opportunities. Earlier in his career, he worked at a Bojangles fast-food restaurant in the offseason so he could learn the business of franchise ownership and at least have a backup plan in a career that can end on any given snap.
Too many mistakes
The Chargers had eight penalties in the first half, including one that wiped out Miller-Hines’ big punt return.
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Uneven performance for rookie QB
Chargers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei passes against the 49ers in the first half Saturday. (Eakin Howard / Associated Press)
There were some dramatic swings for rookie quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. At times he was poised and precise, and had a nice touchdown pass to Oronde Gadsden II. He also misfired on a pass that wound up squarely in the hands of blitzing linebacker Curtis Robinson, who returned the interception 32 yards for a touchdown.
On that play, Uiagalelei was unable to get the ball to receiver Brenden Rice, son of 49ers Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice.
“It would have been great to see him get a big catch and run here, in the city where his dad was such a legend,” Harbaugh said. “DJ didn’t quite see it, came off to the checkdown, and didn’t see the defender either.
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“Still, there are so many learnable things from that. Teachable moments. That’s what you want for young players.”
Uiagalelei, a former standout from St. John Bosco and onetime USA Today High School Offensive Player of the Year bounced around in college from Clemson to Oregon State and Florida State, starting at all three schools.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
