Chargers winners and losers following one preseason game

The Chargers fell to the Cardinals in their first preseason game; who were the team’s biggest winners and losers?

The first game of the preseason isn’t usually very memorable, nor is it terribly indicative of how the team will play. Several key Chargers starters didn’t play, but it did let fans see where the team’s depth is at. Let’s get into the winners and losers this week.

Chargers winners: Tyrod Taylor and Easton Stick

Without Philip Rivers playing, Taylor was in command from the beginning and looked sharp. Head coach Anthony Lynn has stated the quarterback is good enough to be a starter in this league, and he showed it with some solid passing and key runs. He completed all of his passes, with his highlight a nice dart to Mike Williams near the sideline. Breaking off two decent runs when the offensive line didn’t hold up so well was also impressive. While it’s absolutely not something the Chargers will consider barring a Rivers injury, fans would love to see Taylor play extensively one or two games to take some of the load off of Rivers. Rivers’ arm and accuracy petered out towards the end of the year, so integrating Taylor into a few more offensive plays during games would be an intriguing idea if starting isn’t an option.

Stick wasn’t as efficient as Taylor, which is expected as a newcomer to the league, but he sure did show flashes. Rebounding from his interception in the third quarter, Stick came out in the fourth with a great scoring drive down the field, finished by a 31-yard scramble to the end zone. He’s nowhere near NFL ready yet, as exemplified by his early struggles in the game, but his drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter as well as some other moments during the game show that he does have great potential as a project.