Seahawks vs. Chargers: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for San Diego

The San Diego Chargers watched their preseason winning streak come to an end Saturday after Steven Hauschka's 60-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining lifted the Seattle Seahawks to a 16-15 victory on the road.

Hauschka had field goals of 27, 40 and 60 yards, with one miss, and rookie Tyler Lockett returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown to give the Seahawks their first win in the preseason. Seattle's offense was shut out from scoring a touchdown for a second straight game, and the Bolts outgained the Seahawks 406-222.

Branden Oliver had the lone offensive touchdown of the game, a 70-yard receiving score, and the Chargers got three field goals from Nick Novak and Josh Lambo. Philip Rivers went 13-of-19 for 140 yards passing but was unable to get San Diego into the end zone on both of its red-zone trips.

The Chargers have one more game remaining in the preseason, but before we move on, let's recap what happened in this one.

Position Grades for Chargers

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Position	Grade
QB	B
RB	B
WR	B
TE	C
OL	C-
DL	B
LB	B+
DB	D
Special Teams	D
Coaching	B

Philip Rivers played well in an extended look against the Seahawks defense, which was down two members of the Legion of Boom. Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor were not available for Seattle, and it showed in the passing game. Rivers and Stevie Johnson picked apart the secondary over the middle, as did Keenan Allen on a couple of occasions.

Melvin Gordon, Danny Woodhead and Branden Oliver combined to rush for 66 yards, but they had 96 yards in catches. Receiver Javontee Herndon actually led the team in rushing with an end-around that went for 42 yards. Running the ball was difficult against Seattle's front seven, which penetrated the offensive line to collect eight tackles for loss. Pass protection also suffered, as Rivers was sacked twice and knocked around in the pocket.

The defensive line and linebackers got Russell Wilson off his mark when he looked to throw, and they showed fight in the run game. Nick Dzubnar, the undrafted rookie out of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, continues to be a bright spot. Through three preseason games, he now has 18 tackles and two sacks. The secondary lapsed toward the end of the game with missed tackles on the drive that set up Hauschka's game-winning field goal.

Special teams were a disaster on kick coverage—see Tyler Lockett's 67-yard punt return for a touchdown and Kevin Smith's 54-yard kick return.

Stevie Johnson Gets His First Catch as a Charger

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Stevie Johnson entered Saturday's game having been targeted only once in the preseason, but the Chargers made an effort to get him more involved against the Seahawks, as he collected four passes for 63 yards in two quarters of work.

San Diego acquired the 29-year-old receiver in the offseason to compensate for the loss of Eddie Royal in the slot, and up to this point we had only read of the positive reviews in training camp but not actually seen them in exhibition games.

Well, not only did Johnson look as good as advertised, but judging from his first catch as a Charger, he's a big play waiting to happen.

Melvin Gordon Starting to Get Comfortable

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

After he missed out on game reps last week against Arizona Cardinals because of a minor ankle injury, all eyes were on Melvin Gordon to set a precedent in his second preseason appearance, and while there certainly were flashes, he didn't live up to the hype. You could make the argument he didn't have the blocking to cut one loose, but there were times he had one-on-one situations and wasn't able to capitalize.

As Gordon noted during his postgame press conference, he's "definitely getting more comfortable," and it showed on runs like this. Also, he was more decisive with his runs, which he vowed to be after the first preseason game. With more reps, Gordon will get to where he needs to be, but at least there's some growth from his first game to his second one.

Branden Oliver Keeps His TD Streak Alive

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Running back Branden Oliver has now scored a touchdown in three consecutive preseason games for the Chargers. Granted, he's playing against second- and third-string defenses by the time he punches in, but the second-year pro has looked outstanding and deserving of a spot on the 53-man roster.

Oliver was forced into a featured back role as a rookie last season, but with a healthy stable of backs on the depth chart, he'll be sprinkled in on offense to complement Melvin Gordon and Danny Woodhead rather than assume a full workload. Whether it's running, catching or picking up the blitz, Oliver has looked solid in all three facets and continues to be a player of note for the Chargers.

Head Coach Mike McCoy on the Defense

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

Mike McCoy has been pleased with the effort and energy shown by the defense over the past three games, as well he should be. The first-team defense dominated on Saturday, forcing Russell Wilson and Co. to punt on their first three drives and keeping them to a field goal on their lone trip to the red zone. By halftime, the Seahawks had only four first downs and 80 yards of offense. 

John Pagano's unit has done an outstanding job up to this point, and if it can stay healthy over the course of 16 games, it has the potential to be among the league's best by season's end. 

Brandon Flowers on the Position Battle at Strong Safety

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

According to Marty Caswell of the Darren Smith Show, cornerback Brandon Flowers described the competition between Jahleel Addae and Jimmy Wilson as "a beautiful thing", and he's absolutely right. Both players seem to be responding well to the competition, but Addae continues to jump out on film as a guy who just seems to get it in his third year.

Whether it's breaking up passes by way of contact or coming up in run support, Addae seems to do it all, and he proved that yet again when he pressured Russell Wilson into an intentional grounding penalty. Addae was disciplined in his decision not to be fooled by the bootleg, and he showed balance to keep Wilson in front of him and not let him escape.

There's no clear choice yet, but Addae's stock just keeps going up.

Nick Novak on the Kicking Battle for the Chargers

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

According to Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press, Nick Novak made it clear after the game that he fully expects to be the kicker for the Chargers once the regular season gets underway, but in the past few weeks there has been competition brewing between him and 24-year-old rookie Josh Lambo.

Lambo has been perfect through the preseason; he has hit all four of his field-goal attempts, including a game-winner last week against the Arizona Cardinals. The ex-soccer goalie has also shown the desired leg strength on kickoffs. But as tantalizing as it may be to go with a new face, Novak has been statistically one of the most accurate kickers in team history, and he has come through in some big moments for the Chargers.

Novak dealt with some hip tightness last week and was unable to finish the game against the Cardinals, but there didn't seem to be any lingering effects of the injury on Saturday, as he booted field goals of 32 and 52 yards with pinpoint accuracy.