LA Chargers: 3 areas that must improve from Week 2 to Week 3

The LA Chargers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the most interesting games they’ve had in recent history.

The football world was shocked when the LA Chargers received the ball to start the game and saw #10 playing quarterback. The Chargers were debuting their new stadium, but nobody expected for them to debut their first-round quarterback anytime soon, let alone against the defending Super Bowl champions.

It was soon revealed that Tyrod Taylor suffered a chest injury during pre-game workouts, which led Justin Herbert to make his promising first start. That chest injury was confirmed to be a punctured lung on Wednesday morning.

The Chargers’ team doctor accidentally punctured his own quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s lung just before kickoff Sunday while trying to administer a pain-killing injection to the quarterback’s cracked ribs, league and team sources told ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2020

It was a close game which few expected, in which the Chargers controlled the line of scrimmage as well as the pace of the game. It was a big improvement from their win against the Cincinnati Bengals, but it was still not enough as a few mistakes turned the tide in the Chiefs’ favor in the last few minutes.

Even if it was a very promising game, there are always adjustments to be made that can make the Chargers a better football team. The teams that evolve week to week are the ones that are making noise in the playoffs.

Last week, I identified three areas of opportunity, and it looked like the Chargers focused on improving those areas. Austin Ekeler was very involved in the passing game, they improved (slightly) their 3rd and 4th down efficiency, and held their own in a tough field position battle against one of the best special teams units in the league.

The Chargers were one of the most slept-on teams in the league before people took notice after Sunday’s showing. Here are the things they could improve to live up to the hype.