MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Peterson

(Inglewood) – Trey Lance had just over 100 yards combined rushing and receiving and the defense came up with three turnovers as the Chargers beat the New Orleans Saints 27-13 Sunday in a preseason game at SoFi Stadium

Rookie Eric Rogers had two interceptions including a pick six the lead the defense.

New Orleans had a golden opportunity early after the Chargers muffed a punt giving the Saints a first down at the LA 17. But on fourth down Troy Dye stopped Keandre Miller at the four-yard line and the Chargers held.

After a scoreless first quarter Cameron Dicker booted a 44-yard field goal early in the second quarter to give the Chargers a 3-0 lead.

Late in the second quarter the Chargers put together a 14-play, 85-yard drive. Trey Lance, who relieved Taylor Heinicke in the second quarter, capped the march with a five-yard run. The Chargers went for two after a penalty but were stopped short and were up 9-0.

The Saints responded by moving down into Chargers territory. Blake Grupe kicked a 31-yard field goal with five seconds left in the second quarter.

The Chargers took a 9-3 lead into halftime.

Midway through the third quarter Rogers stepped in front of a Tyler Shough pass and took it down the sidelines 43 yards for a touchdown. Dalevon Campbell then hauled in a pass from Lance for the two-point conversion to give the Chargers a 17-3 lead.

Less than two minutes later Shough connected with Mason Tipton for a 54-yard touchdown. The Saints cut the lead to 17-10 with 7:19 left in the third quarter.

Dicker kicked a 44-yard field goal with 4:50 left in the game to give the Chargers a 20-10 lead. On the next series Rogers got his second pick of the game. This one came off Jake Haener, who had replaced Shough, for the Saints.

DJ Uiagalelei entered the game at quarterback for the Chargers and led them on a four-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. Raheim Sanders finished it with a four-yard run to give LA a 27-10 lead with 1:52 left.

Charlie Smyth kicked a 50-yard field goal for New Orleans with 10 seconds left to round out the scoring.

For the Chargers, now 2-0 in the preseason, Lance completed 7 of 14 for 55 yards and ran for 48 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Campbell caught three passes for 62 yards.

Shough threw for 165 yards and a touchdown for the Saints but was hurt by the one interception. Spencer Rattler went 7 of 11 for 53 yards.

Next for the Chargers is a date with the Rams next Saturday at SoFi Stadium.