The LA Chargers lost a close game to the Carolina Panthers 21-16. These are the overreactions that fans likely have after the close loss.
The LA Chargers lost after several typical “Chargers” mistakes, injuries, and poor calls in Week 3.
Is this a return of the “old” Chargers or simply a flash in the pan? Do we need wholesale changes or simply tweaks to the system to get the Chargers flowing well? Here are verdicts on all of your Week 3 overreactions.
Overreaction #1: Anthony Lynn’s seat is heating up due to his recent poor decision making and lack of team discipline
After Anthony Lynn stated “[Justin Herbert] is a backup for a reason” in a press conference post-Week 2, Lynn came under fire by Chargers fans for not stating the obvious – that Justin Herbert looked better than Tyrod Taylor.
While that decision proved to be understandable once the severity of Taylor’s injury was revealed, some more decisions have placed Lynn under serious scrutiny.
In Week 2, there was obviously the decision to not go for it on 4th down in overtime, which essentially handed the game to the Kansas City Chiefs, who possess the best quarterback in the game in Patrick Mahomes and one of the best kickers in Harrison Butker.
While some supported the decision, it is clear in hindsight that it was the wrong decision.
To make matters worse for those paying close attention to Lynn’s decisions, he did not do a fantastic job in Week 3.
To start, Lynn made a poor challenge on a play where Curtis Samuel appeared to clearly be down before losing the football. Later in the game, Lynn seemed to do a questionable job of managing the clock, leaving Justin Herbert to attempt to complete a 99-yard drive in less than two minutes with no timeouts (more on that drive later).
While there were plenty of mistakes made by Lynn in the past two weeks, these mistakes have been massively overblown.
While most knew it was probably the wrong decision to punt on 4th down against the Chiefs, only Anthony Lynn and the Chargers’ coaches know how confident they should have been with the limited playbook that they had at their disposal with Justin Herbert on the field.
Beyond that, while there are some mistakes in game management in Week 3, none were critically game-changing.
What may have been game-changing were the frequent mistakes of the team, including multiple turnovers and several crucial penalties.
These limited amounts of mistakes are no reason to put Anthony Lynn on the hot seat. To do so would endanger the trust that Lynn has built with the players and the culture of accountability he has set within the organization.
At the end of the day, while Lynn made some mistakes in game management, discipline ultimately falls on the players.
Clearly, players need to be coached better to avoid mental mistakes (such as the multiple offsides penalties), and Anthony Lynn needs to improve his in-game decision making. There is certainly room for blame on Lynn’s side as well.
However, nothing that Lynn has done this year is worthy of being placed in the hot seat. He knows that improvement is needed, and we should expect that of him throughout this year. If that improvement does not come in the next few weeks, then the hot seat is in play.
Verdict #1: Overreaction