Chargers Week 16 snap counts

The Chargers managed to pull out another close game despite not having a number of their key contributors. Joey Bosa was out with a concussion and Keenan Allen missed the game with a hamstring injury he’s been dealing with for the past two weeks.

The team also lost Bryan Bulaga and Rayshawn Jenkins early in Sunday’s contest, so things definitely went downhill soon after kickoff.

However, younger players were once again called upon to play meaningful snaps and they came through just enough to walk away victorious in the team’s home finale at SoFi Stadium.

With three-straight victories, including two in a row against the AFC West, this team is gaining some momentum they haven’t seen since the 2017 season when they rebounded from an 0-4 start before rattling off nine wins in the final 12 games of that year.

Go ahead and dive in to the snap counts below. As always, my notes and thoughts are included.

Offense

Notes

• Without Hunter Henry in the lineup, Donald Parham played a career-high 81 percent of the offense’s snaps against the Broncos. Stephen Anderson also played 44 percent and both players combined to catch six passes for 95 yards, which is phenomenal production in place of Henry.
• Austin Ekeler continues to play around that 60-65 percent snap share. Kalen Ballage was once again the No. 2 in the backfield with 28 percent and Jackson rounded it out with 14 percent of the snaps.
• Even with a healthy Mike Williams, Jalen Guyton ended up leading the Bolts’ wide receivers in total snaps with 91 percent. Williams was second with 85 percent while Tyron Johnson was third with 77 percent. Keenan Allen will likely be back for the season finale and it’ll be interesting to see how much Johnson’s snaps get reduced.
• Bryan Bulaga once again didn’t finish the game with what was a deemed a foot injury that he sustained 19 plays into the contest. Anthony Lynn said on Monday that it would be a stretch if he were to return on Sunday, meaning one of the Bolts’ top free agent acquisitions is likely done in 2020.

Defense

Notes

• Chris Harris was the lone Chargers defender to play 100 percent of the team’s snaps against the Broncos, followed by Nasir Adderley (99 percent), Kenneth Murray (96), and Jahleel Addae (94). After playing the majority of the team’s snaps last week, Jaylen Watkins saw zero defensive snaps, despite the Bolts losing Rayshawn Jenkins early on.
• Isaac Rochell, Justin Jones, and Jerry Tillery all played 82 percent of the snaps, leading the way for defensive lineman. Although Joseph played just 62 percent of the snaps, he led all defensive lineman with seven total tackles and had a team-high four pressures.
• UDFAs Jessie Lemonier and Joe Gaziano both played career-highs in snaps at 30 and 18 percent, respectively. They both finished with a lone tackle.
• 2020 sixth-round pick Alohi Gilman also played a career-high 29 percent of the snaps against Denver. He also finished with just a single tackle.
• Nick Vigil recorded his second sack in as many weeks and both Addae and Chris Harris Jr. split a sack against the Broncos. The pass rush continues to be one of the weakest areas of this defense and the absence of Joey Bosa has only made it much more apparent.

Special Teams

Notes

• Michael Badgley made all four of his field goal attempts against the Broncos and the Chargers needed every one of them as his fourth of the day proved to be the deciding points. It was the first time that Badgley made four field goals in the same game since Week 1 of the 2019 season.
• Fifth-round rookie Joe Reed was drafted to be the team’s kick returner going forward. However, he has lost his job to Adderley and it’s not looking good that he’ll have a chance to win it back until this offseason. Adderley has two huge returns over the last three weeks, one of 50+ yards and another that went over 70. That’s not a good sign for the former Virginia Cavalier.