The Los Angeles Chargers snapped their three-game losing skid with a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Here are four takeaways from the win in Week 14:
Have a day, offense
After a slew of stagnant showings on the offensive side of the ball, the group knew they could be in line for a breakout performance facing a Jaguars defense that’s been gashed all season long. Indeed, they did by delivering their best outing yet.
Quarterback Philip Rivers, who turned 38 on Sunday, finished with 16-of-22 passing for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He linked up with six different players, which included several explosive days that put the Jaguars to bed early on. As a result, they broke 40 points for the first time this season.
Running back Austin Ekeler became the first Chargers back since Lionel James in 1985 to record 100 yards on the ground and another 100 receiving yards in the same game. Wide receiver Keenan Allen added 83 yards on five catches and Mike Williams posted 63 yards on two grabs, including his first touchdown of the season.
Defensive dominance continues
The defense has been a strong suit all season long. It was no different on Sunday, as they held the Jags to only 10 points.
Jacksonville’s passing game was held under 200 yards and running back Leonard Fournette was unable to surpass 100 yards, which was led by dominant performances from linebackers Drue Tranquill, Thomas Davis and safety Derwin James, who combined for 20 total tackles.
Defensive end Joey Bosa kept the pressure on quarterback Gardner Minshew all afternoon long, finishing with two sacks and three quarterback hits.
Jacksonville couldn’t stay on the field, as they managed to only convert on two of their 13 third-down attempts.
Derek Watt belongs in the Pro Bowl
Watt has been a special teams ace, leading the league in tackles. That has been the reason why he’s deserving of playing in the 2020 Pro Bowl. He helped his case by scoring his first career touchdown in the second quarter against the Jaguars.
A potential glimpse of the future?
With the Chargers up big in the fourth quarter, there became no use for the starters anymore. That is when quarterback Tyrod Taylor made his presence known under center, drawing a lot of people’s attention given the fact that him and Rivers have two different styles.
The play-calling was clearly different as the team utilized his mobility where he ran the ball four times, including a pistol option play, which resulted in nine yards on the ground. On that same drive, he found tight end Virgil Green in the end zone.
It’s unclear what the plans at the position are for Los Angeles after the season, but an option is having Taylor as the team’s starter if they elect to move on from Rivers. If they do, the offense would shift to Taylor’s strengths, which is what we saw from the small sample size yesterday.
