Week 1 of the NFL season was not short of storylines, but one of the more prominent ones was the Los Angeles Chargers utter collapse at home against the Miami Dolphins that resulted in a 36-34 loss.
To add to the miserable loss, The Athletic cited a statistic that only makes it worse.
This is a new form of Chargering (from The Athletic)
byu/faxtiger24 inChargers
In a post shared on Reddit, the user on the Chargers subreddit shared an excerpt from The Athletic article highlighting the Chargers defensive performance.
"Since 2000, teams that rushed for more than 200 yards, allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards, did not turn the ball over and won the turnover margin by at least two were 110-0. Before Sunday."
Sure, there are many nuances within that statistic, but still, it's all bad. The Chargers offense was fantastic, but the defense, once again, let them down.
Remember, the Chargers head coach is Brandon Staley, a defensive-minded coach. This isn't a unit where Staley is doing his best with less-than-talented players. This defense features players like Khalil Mack, J.C. Jackson, Asante Samuel Jr., Derwin James Jr., Joey Bosa, and more.
Per Pro Football Focus, the Chargers secondary allowed 334 of the 446 yards in coverage. Jackson, a top signing from the New England Patriots a couple of seasons ago, allowed three receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown. He did have an interception and two pass breakups, though. Michael Davis, another cornerback, allowed seven receptions on ten targets for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
Herbert didn't light up the stat sheet necessarily, but he took care of the ball. He completed nearly 70% of his passes for 228 yards and one touchdown. Still, his 6.9 yards per attempt for a player of his arm talent is mind-boggling.
The Dolphins have an explosive offense, but the Chargers defense, loaded with this much star power, cannot allow this to constantly happen, especially with a defensive-minded coach.
Staley is officially on the hot seat. We could be seeing his final season or perhaps a midseason firing if his defense continues to break these negative records.
