In their first year in Carson, the Los Angeles Chargers won nine of their last twelve games, but missed out on the playoffs. The reason for this was a disastrous start to the season and personal negligence in the most important moments. Which set screws does the franchise have to turn? What is the future for Philip Rivers and what are the chances of a postseason participation in the next season? Chargers looking for the killer instinct…
After such a messed-up start to the season, the Chargers disappeared quickly from some of their secret favourites’ lists before they entered the play-off race with a remarkably good second half of the season. In a weak AFC they would certainly have been one of the teams that could not only have entered the playoffs relatively easily, but could also have started a run here.
First season in L. A. But it was once again a lot of small things that prevented the Bolts from entering the postseason. Be it the unmanageable kicker problems, unbelievably curious scenes in which you missed out on deciding plays or finally just bad luck that the results of the competition didn’t fit, which is why you were one of the two out of four teams with a 9-7 record in the AFC that didn’t get a ticket for the wild card weekend. It seems the Chargers are just losing their killer instincts.
Philip Rivers also gained this reputation in his early years, when he repeatedly fell short of expectations in the playoffs after good regular seasons. In the meantime, the 36-year-old is one of the veteran quarterbacks, who can cause a sensation even though he is very old. He proved this with another 4500 yard season and the lowest interception rate of his career. But also Rivers is running out of time. If you want to have a deep play-off run in the future, you simply can’t afford to have such dropouts like you did last season.
No, that’s certainly not how one would have imagined the move to beautiful Los Angeles. On the grandstands of the 27,000 seats StubHub Center the spectators were absent and on the field the chargers could not give any reasons why a new fan community should be formed. The offensive line also looked boring after several personnel changes and the linebacker corps had remarkable problems in the pass coverage. Head coach Anthony Lynn and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley were heavily criticised after the first quarter of the season and a record of 0 victories and 4 defeats.
It took two ugly victories against the equally stumbling New York Giants and Oakland Raiders to get rid of them before the Bolts finally realized their potential. In Week 7, the Denver Broncos’ offense was completely disregarded and suddenly the Chargers were a victory away from a balanced record. A week after a close defeat against the New England Patriots, the Chargers once again put on a performance that could be symptomatic of the franchise’s recent failure.
As a guest at the strong Jacksonville Jaguars, they led late in the game with three points and only had to defend one drive within the two-minute mark (!). And in fact, it all looked like a win when Safety Tre Boston intercepted a fake passport from Blake Bortles. With the next play, however, Austin Ekeler, who had been a strong player until then, fumbled and gave the Jaguars another chance. But the chaos was not over yet. Bortles overcame each of his receivers at Third and 25 just to see the ball caught by Safety Boston again. He spread his arms with certainty of victory and danced in the direction of the sideline.
“I thought we’d won,”a puzzled Boston tried to justify himself after the 17:20 defeat. Coach Lynn, however, described the cheering as “one of the stupid mistakes in this game. Instead of trying to carry the ball forward because the opponent still has all three timeouts… I’ve never seen anything like this before.” In fact, the Jaguars were still in the game. And even Bortles shouldn’t make a third mistake. The Jaguars finally won the game in overtime, after Rivers also threw a pick in the overtime.
In L. A. but it is believed that this was the point in the season where things should change. It may have been a heated discussion in the locker room, or the fact that Lynn left the playcalling tasks to offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, but in fact the team seemed to have changed.
One of the fundamental changes Whisenhunt made was to relieve Melvin Gordon. The chargers wanted to create more through the air and this should succeed, especially because the O-Line improved a lot. Three new players had to be added before the start of the season, one of them was Russell Okung, whose presence gradually paid off. At the end of the season, the Chargers even produced the third-best pass protection of the league after the DVOA of Football Outsiders.
That and a performance explosion by Keenan Allen didn’t hurt, of course, when the Chargers once again turned their lost season into serious playoff aspirations. When Denzel Perryman came back to reinforce the already strong defensive league led by Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, the Chargers found themselves in a direct duel with rival Kansas City three weeks before goal-closing time: one that meant the first place in the division race.
However, whoever thought that the Chargers had gained enough self-confidence after four consecutive victories in a row to make the final breakthrough in this important game, was once again mistaken. They presented themselves with their disappointing face from the start of the season, caused unnecessary penalties and missed several crucial opportunities. Probably the biggest when, after a muffed punt from Chiefs returner Tyreek Hill, five Chargers had a chance to throw themselves on the ball, but it ended up in the hands of Kansas City’s Demetrius Harris.
Even if the Chargers should not get any help at the end of the season to qualify for the playoffs after two final victories, the blame for the missed playoff participation lies with no one other than themselves. Quarterback Rivers, who even threw for the second most yards of his career after the adaptation in the scheme, hung up the lowest interception rate of his career and joined Fran Tarkenton in fifth place on the all-time touchdown list.
“I think we’ll be playing football in January next year,”said the 36-year-old after the season,”We’ve laid at least one foundation stone from which we can move forward and make the decisive leap forward,” said Rivers, referring to what many people think, but what many thought before last season.
Even if you don’t want to pronounce it after such a season, the leaves on the branches of Rivers’ career are getting increasingly darker and too many years are not left to afford momentous dropouts. With Whisenhunt you seem to have placed value on the right word, under which Rivers can once again reach their performance limits. The cadre, in turn, offers the potential to take the decisive next step.
The reason for optimism is above all the much improved defensive. Bosa and Ingram played another great season and proved to be one of the best front-tandems in the league without having to play great stats. The two had a total of 17 sacks on their accounts in the second half of the season, but in the stronger second phase, the duo only managed a total of six more. The return of Perryman also gave the Defense another athletic element. His ability to recognize moves early on and to occupy open spaces was of enormous importance in the successful half of the season.
In the Secondary Casey Hayward earned another Pro Bowl award and on Safety it seemed to have finally found a reliable duo in Boston and Jahleel Addae. Seemed? In fact, this could disintegrate after only one year. Boston is the only defensive starter of the Chargers, with whom it is currently not possible to plan as a Free Agent for the coming season. His loss would be a bitter setback. Boston collected top career scores with 56 tackles and 5 interceptions and visibly gave the defensive stability.
Otherwise, Lynn and the human resources department can concentrate mainly on strengthening management in quality and breadth. Not surprisingly, a replacement for Spencer Pulley was to be found. The center played over 1000 snaps, but was a clear weakness in run and pass protection. Also on Right Tackle you are welcome to add some more. And if there is still room at the end of the day, the kicker position is longing for consistency. This season, five different men tried their hand at an extra point.
What the other team in Los Angeles managed to do in their second season, they are hoping to reach the Chargers. Playoff participation can do so much. The Rams have even been able to fill a much bigger stadium than the one in Carson, California.
If this is successful, the current constitution of the AFC seems to have a lot of potential. The dominance of the patriots hangs on a quarterback that is much older than Rivers. Year after year, the Steelers owe the proof of an elite team in the decisive moments. The Jaguars have to confirm their season and win games through their offense.
But all this is only the theoretical side. What has distinguished the Chargers so far has been rather than getting excellent performances even in the important games, shooting field goals, creating turnovers or simply setting oneself up. The next step requires more discipline and a cooler head. What’s missing so far is the killer instinct!