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I heard an amazing stat while listening to the Darren Smith Show today.
He was talking about the San Diego Chargers loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and said that the Chargers had not had a first quarter lead in any game since Week 12 of last season.
That can't possible be true, can it?
It's very true, and more often then not it results in the Chargers trailing after one quarter.
Let's take a look at what the Chargers' score is at the end of the first quarter in those nine regular season games.
- 3-3 Rams (Chargers lead 3-0 at one point)
- 10-7 Ravens
- 3-0 Patriots
- 3-0 Broncos
- 7-0 49ers
- 3-0 Chiefs
- 7-3 Lions
- 7-3 Bengals
- 3-0 Vikings
So, when is the last time the Chargers had the lead after the first quarter?
Luckily, we don't have to go back much further. It was the week before that Rams game, when the Chargers led the Raiders 7-3 after 15 minutes of play (in a game they would eventually win 13-6).
What does this mean?
Depends on your perspective, I imagine, but to me it means that Mike McCoy's teams are woefully underprepared when they kickoff the game. Really, no matter who they play, their original gameplan heading into the matchup does not seem to be as good as the gameplan of their opponent.
That lack of solid preparation has lead to the Chargers coming from behind in at least their last eight games. This is not a recipe for success.
When your team is faced with a deficit to start out every game, it creates an environment where they absolutely positively can not make mistakes because they don't have the ability to come back from them. This being the Chargers, mistakes are going to happen....it would be preferable to get an early lead to make them not-so-backbreaking.
The Bigger Picture
Mike McCoy has been the Chargers coach for 37 games if you count both the regular season and playoff games. Let's look back at them.
Chargers Record After First Quarter
- 2015: 0-3
- 2014: 5-5-6
- 2013: 6-6-4 (1-1 in playoffs)
So, ummm....probably nothing to worry about? Probably just a weird stat. Still, you'd like to see the Chargers comes out of the gate better than they have in their last 8 games. Slow starts are not your friend, Mike McCoy.