The LA Chargers are exponentially better under Jim Harbaugh. It is not even close. Harbaugh brought winning to Los Angeles and rewrote the culture for a franchise that desperately needed it before his arrival.
That does not mean Harbaugh is perfect and fans were reminded of his mortality on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. For the most part, Harbaugh coached a good game that put the Chargers in a position to beat the Chiefs late.
However, there was one decision Harbaugh made that may have ended up having a big impact on the outcome. The Chargers marched down to Kansas City's 39-yard-line in the team's first drive of the game and instead of attempting a 56-yard field goal on fourth down, Harbaugh opted to punt the ball away for 22 yards of field position to the Chiefs' 16.
The Chargers lost the game by two.
Jim Harbaugh's decision to punt in field-goal range may have flipped the outcome for the Chargers
Harbaugh certainly made a polarizing decision and it has been dissected by the fanbase. The consensus appears to be split: half of the fanbase thinks Harbaugh should have let Cameron Dicker attempt the kick while the other half either thinks it was the right call or does not think it impacted the outcome.
The numbers weren't in favor of the decision. This first-quarter punt ranked in the 98th percentile of all "cowardly punts" since 1999 and the 99.8th percentile of all punts this season.
To be fair, even with a make there would have been a butterfly effect that impacted the rest of the game. And even if all else was the same, the Chiefs still would have had a chance to win the game at the end with a touchdown instead of a field goal. Knowing the Chiefs, they would have figured out some voodoo magic way to get the ball into the endzone.
However, the decision is worth discussing in a game where the Chargers only lost by two points. To beat the Chiefs you have to take the game to them and not leave any points on the board, even if those points come with a risk. Sunday's loss is a good reminder of that.
Ultimately, Harbaugh seemingly passed on the field goal try due to the wind that was swirling at that end of the field. There must have been something in warmups that deterred Harbaugh from taking the risk of giving the Chiefs a shortened field.
The biggest counterpoint to that logic is Jesse Minter's defensive unit. The Chargers' defense played exceptionally well, especially in the first half, and could have held the Chiefs scoreless even if they got the ball on a shortened field.
With a defense this good it is worth taking the risk of trotting out one of the most accurate kickers in the league to attempt a field goal he has made before. Because at the end of the day, field position does not win games against the Chiefs.