Jim Harbaugh has brought about a lot of positive change in his first season as the head coach of the LA Chargers. However, Harbaugh was unable to change his team's fate against the Kansas City Chiefs in his first season as the Bolts were swept by their AFC West rivals yet again.
The Chargers took the Chiefs to their limit on Sunday night but a fortunate clank off the upright mixed with some favorable officiating for Kansas City at the end led to a Chiefs win. While the Chargers endured some unlucky breaks, the team also made mistakes that directly impacted the outcome of the game.
One of those mistakes came in the first drive of the game when Harbaugh decided to punt the ball away inside Kansas City's 40-yard-line. Chargers fans know all too well by now that you cannot beat the Chiefs by playing field position and leaving points on the board and Harbaugh was taught that on Sunday as well.
When speaking to reporters Monday, Harbaugh confirmed the Chargers would have gone for it on fourth down if they were slightly closer to the line to gain. Additionally, Harbaugh admitted that he made the wrong decision to punt the ball away.
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh on decision to not take 57 yard field goal: "We were going to go for it if it was 4th on 4."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) December 9, 2024
On Cam's range: "it's a risk of field position there."
"Yeah, I probably should've gone the other way," on his decision to punt.
Chargers' Jim Harbaugh takes blame for decision to punt vs. Chiefs
This was a highly debated topic both during the game and after the game among Chargers fans. Many fans pointed out how ludicrous it was for the Chargers to punt away the chance of scoring three points against the best team in the league.
However, not everyone was sold on the idea that the Chargers had a chance for three points, even with Cameron Dicker's excellent track record. The kicking conditions were not great on Sunday night, and that ultimately may have played a factor in Harbaugh's decision.
All that being said, Harbaugh himself stopped any of the debates by admitting fault to the media. No head coach is perfect, even Harbaugh, and him owning a mistake and saying he wish he could change it is a good reminder to some fans that it is okay to criticize a head coach's decision, even if he is a great head coach.
Thankfully, this game against the Chiefs didn't change much in the grand scheme of things. The Chargers were not going to reasonably challenge for the AFC West title and losing to Kansas City didn't derail the team's playoff chances.
The Chargers will be fine in the bigger picture and they certainly learned from this game. That may end up being a good thing in the long run as the Chargers look to stop the Chiefs' run of dominance.