Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) gives an audible on the line of scrimmage against the New England Patriots in the second quarter on October 29, 2017 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. File photo by Matthew Healey/UPI |
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Few teams were hotter than the Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) when the season ended as they won nine of their final 12 games. But the hole they dug thanks to an 0-4 start was simply too much to overcome in their first year back in Los Angeles.
The Chargers, and first-year head coach Anthony Lynn, had trouble finding their offensive identity early in the year. Wanting to run the ball, Lynn got away from a more proven commodity in quarterback Philip Rivers. Once the Chargers went throw-first and pass-second, the results were positive.
Melvin Gordon did end up rushing for 1,105 yards and he put together a solid season. Still, another year of Rivers' career was squandered as Los Angeles missed the playoffs for the seventh time in its last eight seasons.
Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram were a dynamite tag-team, pass-rushing tandem that had few peers.
Kickers, and the Chargers went through four of them, didn't help the cause.
But Lynn established in his first year a sense of accountability that wasn't prevalent in the past. While it's a huge disappointment that the Chargers didn't make it into the playoffs, they seem headed in the right direction. Wide receiver Keenan Allen's bounce-back, Pro-Bowl caliber season is a huge plus going forward. Combine that with Bosa and Ingram being young and under contract and Lynn having absorbed his first year on the watch.
After a decent season after two stinkers, the Chargers could be a team to watch in the near future.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: There were questions about Rivers after he came off a season in which he led the NFL with 21 interceptions. But Rivers displayed all the skills that has allowed him to pass for over 50,000 career yards in a steady season. His 4,515 passing yards were second only to New England's Tom Brady. For the 10th consecutive year, Rivers passed for at least 25 touchdowns. Rivers had 28 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
WHAT WENT WRONG: It was a spirited battle in camp, that of being the Chargers' kicker. But it didn't make that many waves when incumbent Josh Lambo was beat out in favor of undrafted rookie Younghoe Koo. Few knew what a disaster the kicking game would be for the Chargers, as they converted just 20 of their 30 field-goal attempts. The Chargers would bring in three more kickers, after Koo, and they are still no closer to finding a permanent solution.
