Chargers game ball in Week 8 win over Packers
By Steven Haglund
Chargers execute new game plan to a T
Most people were shocked when the Chargers relieved Ken Wisenhunt of his role as Chargers’ offensive coordinator. Then the team decided to promote quarterbacks coach Steichen as the new OC.
Many fans were hopeful that Steichen would be able to turn things around and inject some new energy into the struggling Chargers offense and boy did he. The Chargers offense set a record in the month of October, not in a good way, by becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to not rush for more than 40 yards in four straight games.
The play calling was certainly part of it, but the players were also not executing. The offense was an absolute mess in every aspect of the game, not just the run game. It felt like they would struggle just to get to 20 points every time they took the field over the last few weeks.
That all changed on Sunday and Tony Romo was sure to let us know that the Chargers had already surpassed 40 total rushing yards IN THE FIRST QUARTER! Ultimately, the team totaled 35 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s good enough for 4.2 yards per carry, far superior to what they were getting in the month of October. Steichen did an excellent job mixing up formations which involved lots of misdirection. This gave the Packers defense all kinds of different looks, which is a key element to being able to be an effective team running the ball.
The team even ran from an extra heavy package twice at the goal line, which included both Trey Pipkins and Ryan Groy as extra blockers. Both Gordon and Austin Ekeler got at least 70 total yards rushing. Even Romo acknowledged that same fact live and praised the new OC for running such a clean game plan.
Steichen proved to give the Chargers new life on offense and that should continue going forward. On Sunday, that group looked more like the 2018 Chargers and less like what we had been accustomed to so far in 2019.