Chargers’ Depleted Offense Criticized as Herbert Has Quiet Night in Loss to 49ers

The Los Angeles Chargers fell to the San Francisco 49ers 22-16 on Sunday night at Levi's Stadium and fell to 5-4 on the season.

L.A.'s offense was subpar in the loss as quarterback Justin Herbert completed 21-of-35 passes for 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception. That said, Herbert didn't have much to work with as the Chargers have been decimated by injuries at wide receiver.

Both of the team's top two wideouts—Keenan Allen and Mike Williams—missed Sunday's game due to injury. That left Herbert with DeAndre Carter, who caught four passes for 64 yards and one touchdown, and Josh Palmer, who caught three passes for 44 yards, as the top wide receivers.

Running back Austin Ekeler rushed for 24 yards on six carries and also caught seven passes for 39 yards.

Even though the Herbert didn't have his top two targets available against San Francisco, NFL Twitter still criticized the L.A. offense for a disappointing outing, particularly in the second half:

The Chargers desperately need Allen and Williams to return as the offense looks anemic without them. The team is having a lot of trouble moving the ball downfield, and that will only continue if it doesn't figure something out.

L.A. has a tough matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend at SoFi Stadium. A loss agains KC would drop the Chargers to 5-5.