A disappointing start to the season to say the least. The Chargers fell to the Dolphins 36-34 at their home opener at Sofi stadium. Not only did they lose to the Dolphins, but Tua had arguably the best game of his career. Tua went 28-45 for four hundred and sixty-six yards. Tyreek Hill went for 11-15 for two hundred and fifteen yards.
Our defense looked bad to start, blown coverages in the middle of the field and added YAC (yards after catch) for the Dolphins because of it. We made up for it in the tail end of the series by getting a goal line fumble recovery that kept the Dolphins from putting up points.
One bright point was our amazing o-line play, the Chargers and their line physicality showed out. This had to be our best O-line since I became a Chargers fan in 1991. Another plus side is the Chargers have had zero turnovers in their first two games, and have also been able to capitalize on fumbles and forced fumbles in both games.
Our run game in week one put two of our running backs in the top five in the league as far as rushing yards, with Austin Ekeler and Joshua “Lancaster” Kelley. Something we know has been a focus with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. The downside is Austin Ekeler injuring his ankle in that week one matchup, and that injury is looking to carry on into the week three matchup vs the Vikings. Coach Brandon Staley is unsure of the timetable of Ekeler’s return.
One of the biggest mistakes during week one was J.C. Jacksons unnecessary penalty for pass interference that the Dolphins were able to capitalize points off the penalty on third down. Also, there was an interception by Jackson made that would have been nice but unfortunately instead of using his football knowledge and just kneeling in the end zone, which would have resulted in a touch back instead of the ball being placed near the thirteen-yard line. it put us in a cumbersome spot, and we weren’t able to capitalize off of the turnover. J.C. Jacksons stat line is good for the game but without those two mishaps they make him a liability and in all honesty lost us the game. Without those two instances we walk away from that game with a w.
Last week in Tennessee our run game went from spectacular to non-existent in week two. It was almost all passing game, K. Allen had two touchdowns and one hundred eleven yards through the air, along with M. Williams with 83 yards receiving.
Joey Bosa looked great on limited snaps, getting two massive sacks in the game along with the rest of the defensive accumulating five sacks combined from zero in week one. Another defensive plus was hands down one of the best games I’ve seen out of Kenneth Murray, we were also able to keep D.Henry and company to a combined one hundred and thirty rushing yards.
Our right tackle Trey Pipkins had a moment of glory catching a two-point conversion after declaring himself a eligible wide receiver before the snap.
Chargers were the better team overall in this overtime thriller, they just couldn’t get the job done. The biggest thing was missing our perennial rusher Austin Ekeler and not being able to add our run game to have a balanced offense. It’s very difficult to confuse the defense with pass or run option when they know your run game isn’t working. Also, again for the second week in a row our passing coverage was incredibly weak in the middle of the field, which it’s a good thing we were playing against Tannahill and not a good quarterback like Mahomes.
Alot of early conjecture from fans and the sports media is that Brandon Staley is on the hot seat and if the Chargers end up having another disappointing outing that Staley will be fired, and Kellen Moore would fill in as interim head coach. Some have gone as far to say that the new replacement would be Harbough from CFB Michigan. This writer has always been a fan of Brandon Staley since coming to the Chargers and hopes that the Chargers can get something going against the top NFL offense in the Minnesota Vikings, otherwise it’s going to be even colder after that game.
Be mad today, but bolt up tomorrow.