EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints got off to quick starts this season with wins in their first two games.
Both teams have cooled off as they meet on Sunday.
The Chargers (3-3) have dropped three of their past four, including a 17-15 loss at Arizona on Monday night, while the Saints (2-5) are looking to avoid their first six-game skid since 2005.
The Bolts have been competitive in all six games in their first year under Jim Harbaugh, but have struggled in the second half. They’ve been outscored 55-34 after halftime.
Los Angeles also has not scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter in its past five games.
“There’s a lot of things we can correct and clean up, but there’s a lot to look forward to as a whole,” said quarterback Justin Herbert, who passed for a season-high 349 yards in the loss to Arizona.
If the Chargers are going to contend for a playoff spot, the next three weeks are crucial. After facing New Orleans, Los Angeles has a road game against Cleveland (1-6) and then hosts Tennessee (1-5) on Nov. 10.
The Saints scored 91 points in their first two games, but have 86 in the past five.
Derek Carr is likely — but not certain — to miss his third straight game on Sunday because of a Week 5 oblique injury.
Coach Dennis Allen said he anticipates starting rookie QB Spencer Rattler, but stopped short of ruling out Carr, who last season started a game after not practicing the entire week.
Carr is “in the process of going through the progression of throwing,” Allen said. “I don’t know he’ll be ready for Sunday, but we’ll keep going throughout the week and see where we’re at.”
After a stretch of three games in 11 days, including a 33-10 loss to Denver on Oct. 17, the Saints come in rested and are hoping to get a couple of players back after a series of injuries.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talent. I think we got a lot of ability and we’re capable of doing something good here. So, it doesn’t feel good losing five in a row and we got to flip it around,” running back Alvin Kamara said.
Happy returns
Guard Cesar Ruiz, tight end Taysom Hill, wide receiver Chris Olave and linebacker Pete Werner all returned to Saints practice this week after each missed multiple games with various injuries.
Cornerback Marshon Lattimore also practiced after leaving the Saints’ loss to Denver last week with a hamstring injury.
Ruiz has missed four games since injuring his right knee in a Week 3 loss to Philadelphia.
Hill has not played since leaving a Week 4 loss in Atlanta with a rib injury after having scored two TDs in the first half of that game.
Olave was concussed during the first quarter of the Saints’ Week 6 loss to Tampa Bay and missed Denver game entirely.
Werner has missed three games with a hamstring injury that occurred during practice.
Ground control
The Chargers are ninth in the league in run defense, allowing 111.2 yards per game. However, they gave up 181 yards last Monday at Arizona and had 16 missed tackles.
Kamara brings another strong challenge for the defense this week. Kamara not only has 438 rushing yards, he leads running backs in receptions (34) and is second in receiving yards (252).
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has stressed taking the extra step and using better angles in trying to cut down on missed tackles.
“There are certain games where you can say, ‘Hey, we can put this guy on the back and this guy on the back.’ You got to be careful with him because they’re looking for matchups for him,” Minter said. “He runs downhill, is a great jump cut guy and does a great job of pressing stuff on the front side and then cutting it back.”
Kamara’s contract
The Saints put to rest questions about Kamara’s future in New Orleans when they signed him to a $24.5 million extension that runs through the 2026 season.
Kamara wasn’t shy during training camp about saying he was dissatisfied with his previous contract, which was structured in a way that likely would have led to his release after this season. But he didn’t hold out and maintained amid trade speculation that his preference was to spend his whole career with New Orleans.
“This city’s been loyal to me. The organization’s been loyal to me,” Kamara said. “I don’t feel like I would get the same feeling that I get putting on the fleur de lis anywhere else.”
Hold on
Herbert has done a nice job getting everyone involved in the passing game, completing passes to nine players the past two games. The Chargers’ receivers though had five dropped passes against the Cardinals and have nine in their past three games.
Jalen Reagor also fumbled the ball at the Arizona 3-yard line and into the end zone after a 41-yard reception.
Harbaugh didn’t single out any factors in the drops, but did say that ball security has received more emphasis during practice this week.
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AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in Metairie, Louisiana, contributed to this story.
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