Greg Roman, Chargers improved, but the 'prevent offense' needs to stop

Chris Roling | 3 Hours Ago

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In this story:

Los Angeles Chargers

Were it an exception, the Los Angeles Chargers getting conservative and letting the Denver Broncos back into Sunday’s 23-16 win wouldn’t be all that concerning.

But the Chargers keep taking the foot off the gas under offensive coordinator Greg Roman, doing their own version of a "prevent" normally reserved for defenses.

The Chargers had a 23-0 lead entering the fourth quarter in Denver before the Broncos rattled off 16 straight points to make it uncomfortable.

After roughly 30 yards of offense in the fourth quarters of the team’s last two games, Roman’s offense roughly the same mark in the fourth quarter in Denver. The Broncos, meanwhile, rumbled for 200-plus yards and the 16 points in that same final frame. The Chargers have now scored three points total across the last three second halves they’ve played.

It extends farther back, too. The Chargers scored a touchdown near the end of the first half to make it 20-0 and had a chance to score another after getting the ball to start the second half. The Chargers ran six plays, all runs, gained 12 yards and punted the ball away.

To say it is an issue would be an understatement. The idea of running the ball and chewing clock sounds great, but the ground game averaged just 3.4 yards per carry over 38 attempts on the day. Meanwhile, the offense happens to boast one of the best quarterbacks in the sport of football.

It’s an especially notable issue to crawl into a conservative shell like this when the Chargers defense—missing most of its starting secondary—was obviously going to be gassed and playing prevent to protect the lead.

There are other factors that go into this such as matchups, gameplans, injuries, etc. But the point is simple—the ball needs to be in Herbert’s hands more, especially when it matters most.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Chargers from Los Angeles Chargers on SI —