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| Photo Credit: nbcsandiego.com |
Coming off of back-to-back 9-7 records the previous two years, the 2016 campaign was a disappointing one for the San Diego Chargers. Their 4-12 record was their fewest win total for a season since 2003.
Phillip Rivers has been the team leader for several years
now, and he did not lead the Chargers astray in 2015. His 4,792 yards was a
career high and the 2nd-highest total in the league, behind only
former Charger Drew Brees. His 66.1 completion percentage was in the top 10 in
the league, while his touchdown (29) and interception (13) totals and
quarterback rating (93.8) were average for the league. With a history of being
among the league leaders in interceptions occasionally, Rivers managed to
complete passes to the right team for the most part last season.
On the other hand, those passes weren’t going very far.
Rivers led the league in completions and attempts, but was 16th in
yards per attempt, and 29th in yards per completion. His leading
receiver? 5’9” backup running back Danny Woodhead.
Woodhead’s 80 receptions were good enough to tie for 18th in the league, and his catch percentage (receptions / targets) was the third-highest among receivers with at least 70 receptions. But his 755 yards receiving ranked 47th, and his 9.4 yards per catch were better than only Theo Riddick and Golden Tate for players with at least 80 catches.
Keenan Allen was second on the team with 67 receptions for 725 yards (10.8 average), though those numbers were through a total of 8 games before a lacerated kidney in Week 8 took him out for the rest of the season. Four other San Diego players had at least 30 catches but averaged less than 12 yards per catch. Long story short: The Chargers threw it a lot, but didn’t throw it very far.
Woodhead’s 80 receptions were good enough to tie for 18th in the league, and his catch percentage (receptions / targets) was the third-highest among receivers with at least 70 receptions. But his 755 yards receiving ranked 47th, and his 9.4 yards per catch were better than only Theo Riddick and Golden Tate for players with at least 80 catches.
Keenan Allen was second on the team with 67 receptions for 725 yards (10.8 average), though those numbers were through a total of 8 games before a lacerated kidney in Week 8 took him out for the rest of the season. Four other San Diego players had at least 30 catches but averaged less than 12 yards per catch. Long story short: The Chargers threw it a lot, but didn’t throw it very far.
All of that would be fine to deal with if the run game were
effective. But the Chargers didn’t finish eight games below .500 because they
ran the ball well. Their top two rushers, Melvin Gordon and Woodhead, averaged
no better than 3.5 yards per rush. Gordon, a major talent as a rookie out of
Wisconsin, could never get any momentum going. His 88 yards in Week 2 against
Cincinnati was the only time all season he would gain more than 60. He failed
to score a single touchdown all season, which is remarkable considering he
touched the ball 217 times.
Offensive summary: When your best receiver is a running back
not named LaDainian Tomlinson or Marshall Faulk, and your best running back
touches the ball over 200 times without reaching the end zone, the struggle is
real.
San Diego started the season seemingly in the right
direction. After an opening-week win over Detroit, two road losses to the
Bengals and Vikings, and beating Cleveland at home, the Chargers were sitting
at 2-2. Six consecutive losses later, as part of a 1-8 stretch, and the
Chargers had plummeted to 3-10. In three of those losses, they scored exactly 3
points. Beating Miami in Week 15 was their only other celebratory mark on the
year.
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