Top 10 worst plays of the Chargers’ 2018 season

Despite a strong 2018 campaign, the Los Angeles Chargers had their fair share of errors.

The Chargers are frequent guests on many “Worst Plays of the NFL Season” lists, and this year is no exception. To their credit, these errors are not as egregious as some in years past (see: Benjamin, Travis), which is to be expected given the team went 12-4 in the regular season.

Still, it’s my duty today to “highlight” those comical-to-painful mistakes, many of which made this list for simply knocking the Chargers out of the AFC West title race.

Here are the Top 10 worst plays of the Chargers’ 2018 season:

10. Mark Andrews goes deep

Forget Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, Rob Gronkowsi; Mark Andrews is the premier tight end in the NFL:

Lamar Jackson to Mark Andrews! These guys were always great on Saturday’s pic.twitter.com/Vnb3SDXLrG

— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) December 23, 2018

Or at least, that’s what Jahleel Addae and company made him look like on Saturday night football, allowing the rookie third-round selection to score the only offensive touchdown for the Baltimore Ravens. After watching their offense take a lead with the first touchdown of the game, the Chargers defense let a guy whose prospect weaknesses were that he was “slower” and “didn’t have the acceleration to pull away down the field” outrun the entire team en route to a 68-yard score just 60 seconds later.

The score proved pivotal, as the Chargers would have earned a first-round bye if they had won this game. It was not the deciding factor of the loss, but certainly a heavy contributor.

9. Raiders pull a fast one

Raiders vs. Chargers thread: Punters are athletes too. Johnny Townsend @johnnytownsend1 shows some wheels on this fake punt going for 42 yards. Raiders coaches must have seen something on film. Chargers have the gunner at top double teamed.#Raiders #All22 #Raidernation pic.twitter.com/irlQogOI9e

— Ryan Holmes (@Rholm22) November 12, 2018

This game ended up being a big nothing (20-6 loss) for the Oakland Raiders, but for a moment they looked like they could seriously steal this game from the Chargers.

Sporting a 1-8 record, they pulled out all the stops and attempted a fake punt. The Chargers special teams unit (and fans) watched in disbelief as rookie punter Johnny Townsend galloped for a 42-yard gain.

Just watch No. 12 (first seen around the 30-yard line) backpedal his way to the 20-yard line in an “attempt” to make a tackle on the punter.