Chargers News: Pinpointing The Mistakes That Sank LA Below .500 Monday

Not what they needed.

Your Chargers are now in panic mode, as due to their 20-17 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, they're now 2-3, and sit 3rd in the AFC West. 

In a competitive AFC playoff picture, the pace the Chargers are it won't get them where they need to go. Lots of changes need to be made, but there's a number of questions about which ones to make. To best evaluate what to do going forward, let's break down the Chargers' loss. 

Garrett Podel of CBS Sports explains that: 

Los Angeles only got 14 total points off of short fields created by its special teams unit. The Chargers had multiple opportunities to put the Cowboys away, but a turnover on downs and other miscues hampered their ability to maximize opportunities. Not to mention multiple ineligible-man-downfield penalties and numerous holding calls against them. Herbert also missed a few open throws downfield that could have flipped the game. In a contest that could have seesawed either way, the Chargers didn't do enough to tip the scale in their favor.

This accurately summarizes everything that went wrong, as the Chargers essentially had everything that could go their way, go their way defensively in this contest. 

Dallas was held to just 20 points, despite the Chargers offense struggling too. Normally, when one offense struggles, the other team gets an offensive boost as the struggling offensive team's defense is on the field more, causing them to be fatigued, give up more opportunities, and struggle to come up with new and creative coverages. 

This game was, as Podel describes, a "seesaw," suggesting that it could've gone either way. With how productive the Chargers' offense usually is, seeing them struggle to this magnitude in such an important game was definitely surprising, and, ultimately, can be pinpointed as the chief reason for their loss. 

The Bolts' excessive penalties on both sides of the ball didn't help, as a Josh Palmer touchdown was called back due to an ineligible man downfield penalty, along with multiple longer passes. As Podel mentioned, Justin Herbert also missed multiple throws to Keenan Allen that could've sent the game in a completely different direction. 

Football is a game of inches, and, quite frankly, one play could've swung this game. The Chargers just didn't make one all night, and watching the back-and-forth, you could tell they probably didn't deserve to win it. 

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