Desmond King and the Chargers’ defense showed no mercy against Dolphins

He was a standout defender Sunday who didn’t actually stand out at all to one of his teammates.

Casey Hayward had no idea just how a good a day it was for Desmond King until King informed him of it after the Chargers’ 30-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

“I don’t get to see the sacks,” Hayward said. “I’m in the back end [defensively], but he came back and told me, ‘I had three sacks,’ and I was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t even notice that.’ I don’t know who gets sacks until they tell me, so I’m happy for him.”

King officially was credited with 2.5 sacks on a day when the Chargers dropped Miami’s Josh Rosen five times total. A slot cornerback, King also forced a fumble and finished with four tackles.

His effort led a secondary that also produced a notable interception — the first of Michael Davis’ career. Davis was making his 11th start in 33 career games.

Chargers

Austin Ekeler and Ty Long lift injury-hobbled Chargers over Dolphins

Austin Ekeler and Ty Long help the wounded Chargers defeat the Miami Dolphins 30-10, taking advantage of an opponent in worse shape at the moment.

Sept. 29, 2019

“We call him the PBU guy, you know, ‘pass breakups,’” coach Anthony Lynn said. “He broke on a couple today I thought he was going to pick and he finally got one. I think when a guy finally gets that first one, they come in bunches. We’ll see.”

Davis had missed the previous two games because of a hamstring injury suffered early in the Chargers’ season opener.

After a shaky start against the winless Dolphins, the Chargers defense took over after halftime.

“We didn’t allow them to score in the second half,” Hayward said. “We were winning the last three games as well at halftime. So we’ve got to find a way to win and we did.”

The defensive effort was aided by the offense, the Chargers putting together a 16-play, 66-yard field goal drive that devoured 10:31 of the third quarter.

“Just play sound defense, fundamental defense,” Hayward continued. “I think that was it and then the offense did a great job. They had the ball for so long. Anytime we can stay on the sideline, they’re helping us out.”