ATLANTA — Jim Harbaugh called himself out for a poor coaching decision Sunday.
Harbaugh could laugh about it later, after the Chargers defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 17-13, and improved their record to 8-4. But, in the moment, after a faked punt resulted in a pass from punter JK Scott to tight end Stone Smartt that came up a yard short, it was a cringe-worthy decision.
The Chargers haven’t gambled often this season, rarely going for it on fourth downs unless they were near the end zone. They didn’t try a two-point conversion until Justin Herbert connected with Joshua Palmer for the final points in the third quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Falcons.
For some reason, with the Chargers ahead 17-13 but facing a fourth-and-4 from their 36-yard line, Harbaugh went for broke. Scott accepted the snap from Josh Harris, rolled to his right and hit Smartt along the sideline. Smartt would have had the first down if not for Kevin King’s superb tackle.
Luckily for Harbaugh, the Chargers weren’t punished for his gamble.
Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins threw the third of his four interceptions, this one snared by newly-signed defensive back Marcus Maye in the back of the end zone with 9:03 remaining in the game. And the Chargers overcame Harbaugh’s unusual decision to fake the punt.
“The defense was incredible, overcame a coaching decision by me,” Harbaugh said without initially mentioning the fake punt call. “I wish I had that back. I’ll be better with my coaching decisions. I’ll be better. Our offense will be better. Our defense played their best when it was needed the most.”
Asked what he regretted about the fake punt call, Harbaugh said, “It didn’t work.”
When the laughter in the postgame press conference died down, he continued.
“I thought it was a good time, catching them by surprise, and they did a good job defending it,” he said. “We didn’t exactly run it the way we practiced it. Just came up short. That’s on me. Those coaching decisions are good when they’re right. It’s a beautiful thing. Our defense gets a turnover.”
Harbaugh referred to Maye’s interception that ended the Falcons’ next drive.
SECONDARY EXCELLENCE
It would have been easy to dismiss the Chargers’ patchwork secondary going into Sunday’s game. Cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. has been limited to four games this season because of a shoulder injury. Safety Alohi Gilman joined him on IR last week because of a hamstring injury.
The Chargers signed Maye after the Miami Dolphins cut him earlier in the week, and he had one practice before joining his new teammates for Sunday’s game against the Falcons. Tarheeb Still is a rookie cornerback, a fifth-round draft pick from the University of Maryland.
But the Chargers’ defensive backs intercepted Cousins four times, each as important as the others and none more so than Derwin James Jr.s interception with the Falcons driving for a potential winning touchdown inside the game’s final minute. James’ interception was his first this season.
“Everybody brought energy today,” James said of the defensive backs, including veteran Tony Jefferson, who was activated from the practice squad to provide depth. “It was a lot of fun. It was a different group, but you couldn’t tell that (Sunday). We were talking, communicating out there.”