Chargers lose third straight with ending you would have to see to believe
By Travis Wakeman
Wow, that just happened. The Los Angeles Chargers found a new way to lose on Sunday, falling just short (literally) against the Tennessee Titans.
This loss was bad, but it was one of those games in which the Chargers had their fans jumping up and down with excitement only to fail in incredibly shocking fashion.
The Titans held a 23-13 lead late in the fourth quarter but the Chargers rallied, starting with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Philip Rivers to Austin Ekeler to bring them within three points. After holding the Titans, including stopping them on a 4th-and-inches play around midfield, they only needed a field goal to tie.
The Chargers drove all the way down to the Titans’ 1-foot line. They needed to just fall into the end zone, but they also had no timeouts remaining. On first down, they handed the ball to Melvin Gordon. He bobbled the exchange and fell on it close to the goal line, but replays showed he was short.
But let’s rewind it a bit. The Chargers got the ball into this position on a 16-yard completion to Ekeler that was initially ruled a touchdown. Replays showed that Ekeler came down just shy of the goal line.
After Gordon was stopped, the Chargers lined up again with 22 seconds left on the clock. Gordon got the call again and again, fumbled the ball. It came through the pile and after a wild review period on the field, replays showed the Titans recovered the ball.
It all led to an unbelievable loss.
The Chargers are now 2-5 and looking at a tough road to make the playoffs. But before we talk any more about that, it’s time for a rant.
Gordon’s 2019 season has been, in a word, awful. He really felt like he deserved more money? Well, he didn’t then and he certainly doesn’t now. It’s been said before and it might be crystal clear now. The Chargers are better without him.
Ekeler had another solid game, despite being given limited snaps due to the team’s insistence to work Gordon in. The trade deadline is just over one week away and the Chargers should absolutely consider moving their former first-round pick.
There will be more on that later, but for now, it’s a third straight loss for the Chargers and the freefall for the team continues. This is certainly nowhere near how many thought this season would go but when you lose three games in a row to the likes of the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and Titans, how much worse can it get?