Key Takeaways from New Orleans Saints at Chargers

Game time temperature at SoFi Stadium on Sunday was a hazy 78 degrees with a slight 10 mph breeze blowing through the open ends of the stadium. The stadium is also covered by a translucent membrane, which allows natural light to come through it, and you can actually see blue sky from field level, but it IS an open air stadium. … The Saints wore white jerseys with gold pants and gold helmets, while the Chargers wore the powder blue jerseys with white pants and white helmets. … The Chargers won the toss and elected to receive. … Kickoff was at 1:07 p.m. PDT. … Taylor Heinicke started at quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers. … Saints tight end Treyton Welch recovered a muffed punt by Nyheim Miller-Hines at the Chargers 17-yard line but were unable to score when they were stopped on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line as Kendre Miller had no room to run. … We had our first “virtual measurement at the 8:45 mark of the third quarter after a carry by Clyde Edwards-Helaire. … After the Hawkeye technology looked at it, it was determined that Edwards-Helaire picked up the first down after a 2-yard gain. … Shoutout to linebacker Isaiah Stalbird who was seemingly everywhere on the field. Stalbird played most of the second half at inside linebacker and was credited with four tackles, one for loss of six yards and another three on special teams, with a vicious hit of Dalevon Campbell on a kick return. … Linebacker Jaylan Ford led the team with eight combined tackles, five of them solo, while rookie Fadil Diggs added four tackles, including a sack. It was a rough day for the Saints, injury-wise. The offensive line was rocked early, with center Will Clapp leaving the field after the second offensive play. Later in the quarter, starting left guard Trevor Penning also went down. Both left the field via cart. Likewise for wide receiver Bub Means, then in the third quarter newly signed tight end Mason Pline exited the field with an apparent left upper body injury. … Charlie Smyth capped off the scoring of the day for the Saints, drilling a 50-yard field goal with 10 seconds left, making the final score Chargers 27, Saints 13, with 18 of those points coming off of Saints turnovers.