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If you weren’t down for the tank, there’s a good chance you might be now after the Chargers loss to the Raiders on Sunday. It has been another disappointing season with the looming question of stadium relocation (and now rebranding) and a season plagued by injuries and turnovers. Where did the Chargers go wrong? Are they gassed by the time the 4th quarter comes around? We will break down the Chargers snap count and take a closer look at the play time percentage to see what might have gone wrong and why the Chargers blew another lead.
Chargers Offense:
| Pos. | Name | W14 Snaps | % of Total W14 Snaps | W15 Snaps | % of Total W15 Snaps | WoW % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Philip Rivers | 65 | 100% | 55 | 100% | 0% |
| C | Matt Slauson | 65 | 100% | 55 | 100% | 0% |
| T | Joe Barksdale | 62 | 95% | 55 | 100% | 5% |
| G | Orlando Franklin | 47 | 72% | 55 | 100% | 28% |
| WR | Tyrell Wiliams | 61 | 94% | 52 | 95% | 1% |
| WR | Dontrelle Inman | 61 | 94% | 48 | 87% | -7% |
| G | D.J. Fluker | 59 | 91% | 48 | 87% | -4% |
| T | King Dunlap | 65 | 100% | 43 | 78% | -22% |
| RB | Kenneth Farrow | 55 | 85% | 41 | 75% | -10% |
| TE | Antonio Gates | 37 | 57% | 35 | 64% | 7% |
| WR | Travis Benjamin | 44 | 68% | 29 | 53% | -15% |
| TE | Hunter Henry | 35 | 54% | 29 | 53% | -1% |
| TE | Sean McGrath | 14 | 22% | 19 | 35% | 13% |
| RB | Ronnie Hillman | 0 | 0% | 13 | 24% | 24% |
| T | Chris Hairston | 3 | 5% | 12 | 22% | 5% |
| C | Spencer Pulley | 24 | 37% | 7 | 13% | -24% |
| FB | Derek Watt | 1 | 2% | 6 | 11% | 9% |
| WR | Geremy Davis | 0 | 0% | 3 | 5% | 5% |
| RB | Melvin Gordon | 8 | 12% | 0 | 0% | -12% |
| G | Kenny Wiggins | 5 | 8% | 0 | 0% | -8% |
| WR | Jeremy Butler | 4 | 6% | 0 | 0% | -6% |
Each week the offensive line has remained at the top of the snap count list, but while their health is remaining strong (something they lacked last year), their performance has been anything but strong. The Raiders defensive front absolutely dominated the Chargers’ offensive line pressuring Phillip Rivers, getting sacks or tackles for a loss (TFL), and caused turnovers.
For the most part the Chargers playtime percentage remained the same from last week; however, Kenneth Farrow, next in line for the injured Melvin Gordon, saw some of his snap taken away by a recent addition in the backfield. Former San Diego State Aztec, Ronnie Hillman, was activated this week and returned to his old stomping ground at Qualcomm Stadium. Ronnie Hillman was involved in 13 offensive snaps at running back, leading to a -10% in playtime percentage for Kenneth Farrow.
The receivers and tight ends snap counts remained consistent compared to last week (for the most part). Travis Benjamin and Hunter Henry came up big when their numbers were called by snagging the only touchdowns that the Chargers scored this week.
Chargers Defense:
| Pos. | Name | W14 Snaps | % of Total W14 Snaps | W15 Snaps | % of Total W15 Snaps | WoW % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS | Jahleel Addae | 67 | 97% | 62 | 100% | 3% |
| LB | Melvin Ingram | 66 | 96% | 62 | 100% | 4% |
| FS | Dwight Lowery | 69 | 100% | 61 | 98% | -2% |
| CB | Casey Hayward | 68 | 99% | 58 | 94% | -5% |
| CB | Trevor Williams | 61 | 88% | 58 | 94% | 6% |
| DT | Corey Liuget | 61 | 88% | 56 | 90% | 2% |
| DE | Joey Bosa | 23 | 33% | 51 | 82% | 49% |
| LB | Denzel Perryman | 60 | 87% | 49 | 79% | -8% |
| LB | Jatavis Brown | 17 | 25% | 48 | 77% | 52% |
| NT | Damion Square | 56 | 81% | 46 | 74% | -7% |
| CB | Trovon Reed | 24 | 35% | 33 | 53% | 18% |
| LB | Kyle Emanuel | 42 | 61% | 30 | 48% | -13% |
| SS | Adrian Phillips | 27 | 39% | 18 | 29% | -10% |
| NT | Ryan Carrethers | 0 | 0% | 18 | 29% | 29% |
| LB | Korey Toomer | 52 | 75% | 11 | 18% | -57% |
| LB | Chris Landrum | 13 | 19% | 11 | 18% | -1% |
| DE | Darius Philon | 18 | 26% | 10 | 16% | -10% |
| DT | Tenny Palepoi | 29 | 42% | 0 | 0% | -42% |
| CB | Craig Mager | 6 | 9% | 0 | 0% | -9% |
The defense was able to create turnovers by causing Latavius Murray to fumble and Trovon Reed coming up with an interception for the second week in a row. While Derek Carr managed to have an okay game (81.7 QBR compared to Rivers’ 86.3), the Chargers defense was able to get after him (just look at this article’s picture). At times, the front seven was able to create pressure and get to Carr. Joey Bosa is not showing signs of slowing down or letting off the gas before the season is over. After injuring his neck last week, it was reasonable to think he would be limited in snaps in a game that would not get the Chargers to the playoffs, but then again it’s Raiders week. Joey Bosa has been outperforming his contract and it doesn’t look like he’s going to stop anytime soon. Maybe he has some performance bonuses he’s looking to reach before this season, but whatever it is he has established himself as the best rookie in the NFL this year.
While the Chargers lost Tenny Palepoi for the year, and Korey Toomer saw a significant drop in playing time, it was great to see Jatavis Brown back on the field. Also, for the first time this season Melvin Ingram managed to rank near the top of the snap count list. Both Brown and Ingram were atop of the tackle counts and both had TFLs.
The defensive backs playing time remained relatively consistent compared to last week and Trovon Reed managed to come up with another pick. While there have been times that the defensive backs’ play has been inconsistent, this week they managed to hold Derek Carr to 213 yards and one touchdown, yielding an 81.7 QBR.
Next week we will break down the tankiest game of the week when the Chargers face the Browns at Cleveland.