Quentin Johnston: I know I have to get better

Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston’s six touchdown catches in his first eight appearances this season marked a big improvement over his rookie year production, but Monday night’s game against the Ravens represented an unwelcome reminder of just how much Johnston struggled in 2023.

Five of quarterback Justin Herbert’s passes went Johnston’s way Monday night, and he caught none of them. Three of those passes were in Johnston’s hands before they hit the turf in the second half, and the drops helped keep the Chargers from a comeback that would have allowed them to avoid a 30-23 home loss.

Herbert said he felt he could have given “better placement, better balls” on the throws, but Johnston said it’s up to him to play when they present themselves.

“You just learn not to dwell on it too much and just try to put it past me as much as I can,” Johnston said, via Joe Reedy of the Associated Press. “Of course I would like to have catches back, but I can’t. So I can’t do anything but just learn from it. … I know I have must get better.“

The Chargers gave up 213 rushing yards and couldn’t get anything going on the ground themselves after JK Dobbins left with a knee injury, so the lack of connections with Johnston wasn’t the only place the team fell short. The flaws were still glaring, however, and the Chargers will need more from the 2023 first-round pick in the future.