Los Angeles Chargers: Team awards at midway point of season

Biggest Surprise- Mike Badgley

It’s probably never a good thing when you’re surprised that a kicker can make field goals, but after a parade of kickers who seemingly couldn’t do just that, did anyone expect the little-known Mike Badgley to be able to?

Instead, Badgley has come in and been perfect. While it’s only been two games since he replaced an injured Caleb Sturgis, Badgley has made both of his field goals and all seven of his extra-point attempts. That’s almost unheard of for this team.

After trying Younghoe Koo, Nick Novak, Travis Coons and Nick Rose last season, the Chargers kept their fans banging their heads against the wall after an incredibe amount of missed kicks. It seemed like no one would ever be able to kick for this team and that continued into this season as Sturgis, one of the team’s top free-agent signings this offseason, kicked like those four guys mentioned above.

After Sturgis was hobbled with a quad injury, the team brought in Badgley, who had only kicked during the preseason as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. Though bigger names were out there, including Roberto Aguayo, who spent the summer with the Chargers, the team opted to go with Badgley. So far, it was the right decision.

Badgley has been a breath of fresh air, so hopefully winnining this award won’t jinx him. However, Sturgis should be ready to kick again, perhaps as early as Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks. The team will have a tough decision to make, but keeping both kickers is an option.