It was a close game at halftime, but the Chargers were hit hard in the second half. There wasn’t much positive to take from this game, especially because of the losses in the last 30 minutes.

There were still a few bright spots in the performance, but also the expected downturns after such a catastrophic defeat.

Stud: Poona Ford

In a game with very few positives, Ford was quite solid against the Buccaneers’ physical offensive line. Ford has been fairly consistent on the interior portion of the defensive line this year. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, he was the Chargers’ highest-graded player in Week 15 (79.0). Ford was the sixth-best defensive lineman in all of football in 2024, which includes his ability to stuff the run in the middle of the defense.

Dud: Kristian Fulton

The fifth-year cornerback has shined at times this season, but he struggled mightily on Sunday. Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield targeted Fulton six times and completed each of those times for 88 yards and a touchdown to Mike Evans. Evans outplayed Fulton on multiple occasions, and the Chargers’ secondary performed quite poorly overall in Week 15.

Stud: Quentin Johnston

The Chargers finished the game with just 174 passing yards, but Johnston once again had an outstanding performance. For the second week in a row, the former TCU product finished with five catches and a touchdown. Although his hands are still an issue, he has at least made a decent number of plays in his second season. He has shown tremendous improvement in 2024, and it showed in Sunday’s loss.

Dud: Gus Edwards

The Chargers are significantly missing starting running back JK Dobbins. Without him, the team’s ground offense is virtually non-existent, and that was on full display again on Sunday. Edwards was once again ineffective with just 23 rushing yards on eight carries, a paltry 2.9 yards per touch. Rookie Kimani Vidal had more work to do than Edwards throughout the game due to his versatility in the passing game. Not only has Edwards been a non-factor on the ground this season, he has only totaled two catches.

Dud: Perform Defense

The Chargers’ run defense was middle of the pack in 2024, but they were downright terrible on Sunday. Tampa Bay managed 223 yards on the ground as each of its top two running backs was effective. There were also a few big plays, including a 54-yard scraper by Bucky Irving and a 21-yard scramble by Mayfield. Remove the tape from this.

This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Headlines and duds following the Chargers’ poor Week 15 performance against the Buccaneers