Justin Herbert has TDs passing and rushing as Chargers beat Titans 27-17 for 3rd straight win

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The combination of steady play by Justin Herbert and a strong defense has given the Los Angeles Chargers their best start in six years.

Herbert threw for a touchdown and ran for one, and the Chargers had seven sacks in their third straight victory, 27-17 over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The Chargers are 6-3 — their best start since going 7-2 in 2018 — and have won four of five to surpass last season's victory total.

“A complete, total team win. When you look at the offense, the drives that we put together ... tough, gritty type of conversions on third down and fourth down,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “They’re playing lights out on the defensive side. And then special teams, another big return by our punt return unit.”

Herbert completed 14 of 18 passes for 164 yards and had 32 yards rushing. He is the seventh quarterback since the NFL-AFL merger, and the first since Philip Rivers in 2018, to have a passer rating of at least 90 in each of the first nine games of the season.

The defense — which is allowing a league-low 13.1 points per game — is the fourth since 1990 and the first since the 2013 Kansas City Chiefs to allow 20 or fewer points in each of its first nine games.

“Rush and coverage. We have some of the best rushers in the league and that allows us to make plays,” safety Derwin James said.

The Titans (2-7) came in with the NFL's top-ranked defense overall and against the pass but forced Los Angeles to go three-and-out only twice in nine possessions.

Calvin Ridley scored both of Tennessee's touchdowns and had five catches for 84 yards. Will Levis, who missed the last three games with a shoulder injury, was 18 of 23 for 175 yards, but the sacks limited his effectiveness.

“It was a nice start. It was cool to get the ball downfield and get that shot dialed up, something we’ve been waiting on," Levis said. "Second half, I think for me personally, a couple situations where I could have just got the ball out of my hands earlier, help the line with pressure."

Herbert gave the Chargers a 13-7 lead with 1:55 remaining in the first half on a 4-yard run off right tackle out of the shotgun formation on fourth-and-1.

“I thought we did a great job from start to the end being able to move the ball, run the ball, pass the ball however we needed to move it,” Herbert said. “I thought the guys up front did an incredible job and to be able to put that together against a very good opponent, it means a lot to me.”

The game turned with 21 seconds remaining in the first half. The Titans appeared to tie it at 13 when Roger McCreary ran back Herbert's fumble 20 yards into the end zone. After a replay review, the call was changed to an incomplete pass because officials determined Herbert's arm was going forward, leaving Titans coach Brian Callahan incensed.

Callahan said officials initially told him the call was going to stand before they and the replay center in New York took another look.

“I’ll let you guys decide what you think the call should have been, but I don’t want to lose any money,” he said.

Harbaugh and Herbert said the reversal was huge.

“To be able to go to halftime with the lead and to avoid a play like that is big time,” Herbert said.

And then the Chargers took control in the second half.

Herbert extended the lead to 20-10 with three minutes to go in the third quarter on a 16-yard pass to Quentin Johnston in the right corner of the end zone.

Hassan Haskins, who spent two seasons with Tennessee, extended the advantage to 17 points with a 1-yard dive up the middle. That capped an 11-play, 95-yard drive that ate up seven minutes.

“It was just steady. It’s like death by a thousand paper cuts when you play that way, and we kind of gave up just enough yards every time on a 95-yard drive to allow them to go punch it in for seven when we had them backed up on the 5,” Callahan said.

The Chargers got a 21-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker on their opening possession before the Titans answered with Levis' 41-yard strike to Ridley.

Levis faked a handoff to Tony Pollard and had plenty of time in the pocket. Ridley caught it at the Chargers 6 and had a couple yards of separation on defensive back Ja'Sir Taylor before scoring his second touchdown this season.

It was the first time the Chargers allowed points on an opening drive this season.

Ridley also caught a 15-yard TD in the left corner of the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

The Titans drove to the Chargers 19 midway through the second quarter up 7-6 and appeared to be on the verge of adding to their lead when facemask and false start penalties pushed them back.

Nick Folk was wide right from 49 yards, snapping a streak of 20 straight made field goals dating to last season.

Titans: CB L’Jarius Sneed (quadriceps) missed a fourth straight game.

Chargers: OG Trey Pipkins III (ankle) was inactive. Jamaree Salyer got the start at right guard. CB Kristian Fulton missed his second straight game.

Titans: Host Minnesota next Sunday.

Chargers: Host Cincinnati next Sunday night.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Tennessee Titans tight end Josh Whyle (81) drops a pass in the end zone during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Derius Davis (12) returns a kickoff past Tennessee Titans defenders during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Tennessee Titans place-kicker Nick Folk (6) kicks a field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan yells at officials during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) celebrates his touchdown with teammates during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) runs the ball past Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman (6) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley, right, catches touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) runs the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston warms up before an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears (2) and quarterback Will Levis (8) greets each other before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Tennessee Titans linebacker Ali Gaye (99) runs past a Salute to Service sign as he warms up before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) looks to throw a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) celebrates the team's touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) runs into the end zone for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian army has withdrawn from the central city of Hama after insurgents broke through its defenses, the military said Thursday, in another setback for President Bashar Assad.

The announcement came hours after opposition fighters said they had entered the city and were marching toward the center.

The Syrian army said it redeployed from Hama and took positions outside the city to protect the lives of civilians.

The capture of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest city, is another blow for Assad days after insurgents captured much of the northern city of Aleppo, the country’s largest city.

On Thursday morning, Syrian insurgents said they entered Hama after three days of intense clashes with government forces on its outskirts, part of an ongoing offensive.

The Syrian army said in a statement later that a number of troops were killed after resisting the insurgents for days. It accused the attackers of relying on suicide attacks to break through the defenses of the city.

Hama is one of the few cities that remained under full government control during Syria's conflict, which broke out in March 2011 following a popular uprising. Its capture would be a major setback for President Bashar Assad.

The offensive is being led by the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as well as an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army. Their sudden capture of the northern city of Aleppo, an ancient business hub, was a stunning prize for Assad's opponents and reignited the conflict which had been largely stalemated for the past few years.

The next target of the insurgents is likely to be the central city of Homs, the country's third largest. Homs is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Hama.

Aleppo's takeover marked the first opposition attack on the city since 2016, when a brutal Russian air campaign retook it for Assad after rebel forces had initially seized it. Intervention by Russia, Iran and Iranian-allied Hezbollah and other militant groups has allowed Assad to remain in power.

The latest flare-up in Syria’s long civil war comes as Assad’s main regional and international backers are preoccupied with their own wars.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the renewed fighting, which began with the surprise opposition offensive Nov. 27.

The insurgents claimed on their Military Operations Department channel on the Telegram app Thursday that they have entered Hama and are marching toward its center.

“Our forces are taking positions inside the city of Hama,” the channel quoted a local commander identified as Maj. Hassan Abdul-Ghani as saying.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said fierce battles were fought inside Hama.

“If Hama falls, it means that the beginning of the regime’s fall has started,” the Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdurrahman, told The Associated Press before the city's capture.

Hama is a major intersection point in Syria that links that country’s center with the north as well the east and the west. It is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital, Damascus, Assad’s seat of power. Hama province also borders the coastal province of Latakia, a main base of popular support for Assad.

The city's name is known for the 1982 massacre of Hama, one of the most notorious in the modern Middle East, when security forces under Assad's late father, Hafez Assad, killed thousands to crush a Muslim Brotherhood uprising.

Internally displaced people walk among the tents in a camp in Tabqa city, Raqqa governorate, northern Syria, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Thousands of Kurdish families displaced from Aleppo and Tel Rifaat have ended up in temporary shelters and on the streets in Kurdish-controlled areas of Tabqa city. (AP Photo/Hogir El Abdo)

Internally displaced people walk among the tents in a camp in Tabqa city, Raqqa governorate, northern Syria, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Thousands of Kurdish families displaced from Aleppo and Tel Rifaat have ended up in temporary shelters and on the streets in Kurdish-controlled areas of Tabqa city. (AP Photo/Hogir El Abdo)

Internally displaced people sit in a camp in Tabqa city, Raqqa governorate, northern Syria, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Thousands of Kurdish families displaced from Aleppo and Tel Rifaat have ended up in temporary shelters and on the streets in Kurdish-controlled areas of Tabqa city. (AP Photo/Hogir El Abdo)

Internally displaced people arrive at a camp in Tabqa city, Raqqa governorate, northern Syria, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Thousands of Kurdish families displaced from Aleppo and Tel Rifaat have ended up in temporary shelters and on the streets in Kurdish-controlled areas of Tabqa city. (AP Photo/Hogir El Abdo)

Internally displaced people sit in a camp in Tabqa city, Raqqa governorate, northern Syria, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Thousands of Kurdish families displaced from Aleppo and Tel Rifaat have ended up in temporary shelters and on the streets in Kurdish-controlled areas of Tabqa city. (AP Photo/Hogir El Abdo)