MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Chargers leaned on a lot of backups Sunday, but with the game against the Miami Dolphins on the line, they turned to Mr. Reliable.
Cameron Dicker kicked a 35-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to lift his team to a 29-27 win, the final points in a game that included six lead changes.
It was the fifth field goal of the day for Dicker, who has never missed from 40 yards or closer.
Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. clinched the win with an interception on the final play, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s third pick of the day.
The sparse crowd had erupted minutes earlier when Tagovailoa hit Darren Waller for a seven-yard touchdown, reclaiming the lead with 46 seconds on the clock.
But Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert answered with a lightning-quick drive downfield to set up the winning field goal.
The Chargers, ravaged by injuries, effectively leaned on their reserves to help pave the way for their first victory in three weeks.
Reserve running back Kimani Vidal rushed for 124 yards and turned a short pass into a touchdown. He was promoted from the practice squad last Wednesday after the Chargers lost rookie first-round pick Omarion Hampton to an ankle injury. Earlier this season, the team lost veteran running back Najee Harris to a torn Achilles tendon.
The performance marked the first 100-yard game by Vidal, drafted in the sixth round out of Troy University by the Chargers in 2024.
It was the second consecutive week the 1-5 Dolphins were burned by a little-known running back, as Carolina’s Rico Dowdle trampled them for 206 yards in Week 5. Miami came into the game with the NFL’s worst run defense.
On Sunday, the Chargers made seven trips to the red zone but failed to make the most of those, with two touchdowns and five field goals.
Giving the visiting defense all it could handle was Miami’s De’Von Archane, who had a 49-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a four-yarder in the fourth. The Dolphins repeatedly fed him the ball down the stretch and scored on the touchdown catch by Waller, but couldn’t hold off Herbert’s final drive.
Stopping the run has been an issue for the Chargers, too, as Washington’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns against them the week before.
The Chargers won their first three games of the season, running the table against AFC West opponents, but lost the next two games at the New York Giants and home against the Washington Commanders.
Not only had the Chargers lost their two top running backs, but they have had to reshuffle their offensive line multiple times because of various injuries. They have designed their offense to get the ball out of Justin Herbert’s hands quickly, as he has been hit more than any quarterback in the league this season.
That was the case in the first half of Sunday’s game as well, as Herbert was hit four times — and sacked once — by the Dolphins, who registered just 18 quarterback hits in the first five games combined.
But the Chargers came alive in the second half, overcoming a 13-9 halftime deficit, with a five-yard touchdown reception by Ladd McConkey, a seven-yard scoring catch by Vidal, and a fourth field goal by Cameron Dicker.
The Chargers, without injured receiver Quentin Johnston, leaned more heavily into rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II, whose father played receiver for the Dolphins for six seasons.
The younger Gadsden caught seven passes Sunday but also had a fumble that set up Achane’s first touchdown.
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