The Los Angeles Chargers may be in a position to make a playoff run this season, but that doesn't mean this roster is set up to romp over anyone they play. Even with Justin Herbert playing very well, the Chargers' lack of skill position weapons is catching up to them.
With a banged-up Herbert taking a slight step down from his usual level of excellence against the Kansas City Chiefs and Ladd McConkey not suiting up, LA had to win a game on the road with Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston as primary receiving options against a very good Chiefs defense.
Unsurprisingly, the Chargers were unable to pull out a win, even if Kansas City needed a game-winning doink field goal to win it. In a game where the wide receivers made mistakes and the tight end room continued to be as mediocre as possible, it was seldom-used Stone Smartt who ended up making a few big plays in crutch situations.
Smartt caught three passes for 54 yards, showing more playmaking chops as a receiver than Will Dissly has shown in a month and Tucker Fisk has put on display in his entire professional career. The Chargers' loss is brutal, but the emergence of Smartt is one positive they can take away from this contest.
Stone Smartt emerges as Chargers' passing game weapon is silver lining to Chiefs loss
Smartt hasn't been given many chances by new offensive coordinator Greg Roman, as he is not a very good blocker and the Chargers want to run the ball quite often. Through necessity, Smartt was forced into the lineup, and he didn't disappoint.
Outside of McConkey, the Chargers don't have any genuine standout passing game options for Herbert to use. Smartt has some sort of juice, but Roman's archaic offense makes it tough for a player like him to get on the field.
With the playoffs fast approaching, the Chargers have just four more games to figure out if Smartt's game against Kansas City was a sign of better things to come this season or a flash in the pan for a Chiefs team that likely didn't plan for him to get as many targets as he did.
With the front office likely to spend a ton of money and draft capital on new pass catchers for Herbert in the offseason, Smartt has the ability to make himself a ton of money in the next few days.