11 regular season games have gone by and the Chargers are sitting with an unexpected 4-7 record after having high expectations entering the year.
With only five games remaining, there are a few questions that not only the fans, but the franchise is wondering during their bye week.
Can Philip Rivers turn things around?
Prior to the regular season, you could have said that Rivers had four or five years left in the tank following his stints in 2017 and 2018 where he played at an elite level. Now, there’s questioning whether or not the veteran quarterback will be around following the 2019 campaign.
Rivers has compiled a head-scratching 15 touchdown to 14 interception ratio through 11 games. His play has been plagued by an unsteady offensive line after a handful of injuries, which has clearly effected him in the pocket. But there’s been signs of decline, including questionable decision-making and regression in arm talent.
Rivers, who will be turning 38 in December, will have these last five games of the regular season to turn his 16th professional campaign around. No matter who’s playing along the offensive line, if he doesn’t improve, there’s reason to believe that the franchise will consider not bringing him back for Year 17.
Will Melvin Gordon make his money?
Gordon was the talk of this past offseason and the first few weeks of the regular season when he elected to holdout because he wasn’t getting the contract extension that he felt he was worth. Six weeks into the 2019 campaign, and Gordon knew he wasn’t benefitting from watching from the sidelines.
The former Wisconsin product’s first four games of the year suggested that the holdout was completely unnecessary because he didn’t surpass 40 yards from scrimmage in each one of the contests. But Gordon has turned things around the past three weeks since Shane Steichen took over as the offensive coordinator, rushing for at least four yards per carry, along with six scores.
Like Rivers, the Chargers will have to decide whether or not they will attempt to bring Gordon back after this season. The pay he’s been playing recently and from the trend we’ve been seeing, there’s no doubt that he feels like he’s worth $13 million annually, but will the team feel that way after the year?
How will the team finish this season?
Like we mentioned in the beginning, the Chargers weren’t expecting to be sitting at the position that they are in now after a phenomenal 2018 campaign. But injuries, coaching changes and simple in-game blunders that they haven’t been able to overcome are the reason they have a 4-7 record.
The chances of Los Angeles making the playoffs are quite slim. The team isn’t mathematically eliminated, but they would have to win their remaining games and hope for a lot to happen with the other teams that are in contention for the postseason.
While some are hoping they give up the season in order to acquire a higher draft selection, coach Anthony Lynn said that tanking is not an answer for the Chargers. Not only is tanking a bone-headed move, but there are players that have contracts on the line, and they can’t afford to underperform on purpose.
The bye week is beneficial in a variety of ways, including giving key players that are banged up the much-needed rest and it allows for players coming back from injuries — safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips — to get back to the pace they need to be in for the final stretch.
With opponents that consist of the Vikings, Raiders and Chiefs, we will be able to see if the Chargers are able to overcome some of their woes that cost them games earlier this season with James and Philips back, and hopefully left tackle Russell Okung.
