Thankfully, this version of the Chargers defense won’t be the one you see much longer.

Really, all Joey Bosa’s agent had to do Sunday was send the Chargers video of its defense in the first half of a 23-10 exhibition loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

What played out on the turf inside the Vikings’ new stadium was Bosa’s only real leverage.

It was scary to see just how poorly the Chargers defense could play without the two players the team acquired this offseason specifically to prevent such awfulness.


Without Bosa and nose tackle Brandon Mebane, it would be a long season with many long plays against the Chargers.

It was a preseason game, wherein the starters on both teams were watching from the sideline by the third quarter, many by the second quarter and a few out altogether. Bosa was somewhere else. Mebane was on the sideline, effectively placed in bubble wrap.

And the Chargers defense did make some nice plays when it wasn’t allowing an obscene amount of yards on other plays. Most notably was that three defensive linemen had sacks in the first half, though one was on a botched snap in which Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater conceded by falling to the ground to protect the ball. (There was also safety Dexter McCoil causing a fumble that Jason Verrett recovered, but even that came after the Vikings had gained 18 yards on a pass play, one of seven such plays in the first half.)

Nonetheless, it was a brutal exposure of a weakness at the end of a week in which the Chargers’ contract standoff with the defensive end they drafted third overall reached the brink of becoming nuclear.


There were whispers Sunday that the sides are close to reaching a resolution. And for whatever brave face the Chargers could muster after the game about the players they have, Bosa’s arrival will be welcomed with a sigh of relief .

“It would bring the No.3 overall player,” end Corey Liuget said. “It would be great to see how he fits. We’ve got some guys who are working hard. We’ll be OK. But us having him would definitely help us out.”

In addition to Bosa signing in the coming days and being all he’s supposed to be quicker than virtually anyone expects him to be, the best that can be hoped for is that the Chargers defense wins the waiver wire lottery next weekend.

That isn’t a new plan. It is simply more vividly necessary after Sunday.


What happened here was not a surprise to the Chargers personnel men. They drafted Bosa for a reason. Damion Square’s four-game suspension at the start of the season is probably the only reason Ryan Carrethers will make the team. Mebane was wisely rested Sunday, because there might be no one other than quarterback Philip Rivers the Chargers could more ill-afford to lose to injury. Darius Philon continues to improve and may one day be a starter, but that day should not be two Sundays from now.

The Chargers have for a while been keeping an eye on defensive players who could become available when other teams make their final roster cuts.

Going 4-12 in 2015 hasn’t yet yielded the benefit of the high draft pick coming in and improving the team.

But it will give the Chargers an advantage come Sept. 4 when they have the third-highest priority when making claims off the waiver wire. That day could be the most important of the season.


If Bosa is as behind as the Chargers fear and with Damion Square suspended the first four games of the season, the Chargers are in dire need of help for at least September.

The Chargers went into Sunday’s game short of 53 players that could make up a contending NFL team. That reality only became more vivid.

The Chargers need a fourth tight end. With third running back Branden Oliver out for the season after tearing his Achilles’, they might seek outside help there, too. They might also go the waiver route to upgrade offensive line depth.

More than anything, though, they so badly need help on the defensive front – a lineman or two and an outside pass rusher.


Mike McCoy spoke of finding the best 53 players among the current 89, but also said this: “We’ll do whatever we have to for the opener to make sure we have the best guys playing.”

Mebane will make a difference, as he demonstrated in the second preseason game against Arizona. Bosa could be available in a limited role in the Sept. 11 opener in Kansas City if he shows up soon.

Without those two, you will be left to scream at your television, “Make it stop.” But nothing is getting stopped if this version of the Chargers defense is the one playing.

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