Chargers fans should be ecstatic with the AFC West coaching circus show
By Jason Reed
The LA Chargers lost a game in which they probably should have won against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football and it left an ugly taste in every fan's mouth. Not only did the team lose a close game to a divisional rival, but Justin Herbert also fractured his rib cartilage in the process, which could cost the team more games.
It is safe to say that most Chargers fans were bummed out heading into Sunday and that was likely made worse with the NFL's hypocritical interception decision in the Saints-Bucs game as part of the early slate.
However, the late slate of games provided some comic relief for the Chargers as both the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos were in action. Las Vegas blew a big lead to the Arizona Cardinals and lost in overtime while the Broncos had to fight tooth and nail to eek by the Houston Texans at home.
Most notably, the coaching for both teams was a complete circus show. Josh McDaniels is in his second stint as a head coach while Nathaniel Hackett has only two games under his belt. Both look like they don't belong this early in the NFL season.
Chargers fans should be ecstatic with the lack of good coaching for the Raiders and Broncos.
Hackett has simply looked like this entire job has been way over his head thus far. In Week 1 he made the controversial decision to attempt a field goal that had only been made twice in NFL history instead of trusting the quarterback that his franchise just traded for and paid a massive extension to before he even played.
While Hackett did not have to make a decision like that against Houston, the overall coaching was still a nightmare. It got so bad, in fact, that the Denver home crowd had to start loudly counting down the play clock to ensure that the Broncos got the message.
Meanwhile, McDaniels blew a 20-0 halftime lead against the Arizona Cardinals, only scoring three points in the second half and overtime. Not only did McDaniels' team blow a lead, but their "high-powered offense" completely choked. This is an Arizona defense that just looked abysmal the week prior against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Raiders fans have been talking all offseason about how Vegas has one of the best offenses in the league that will rival the Chiefs. That obviously did not show up in this game.
The worst offense for McDaniels in this game was how he handled the overtime period. The Raiders were knocking on the door of Daniel Carlson's field-goal range and arguably were already in it. Instead of running the ball to gain a few yards, play it safe, and then go from there, the Raiders decided to take unnecessary risks.
First, Carr slung a pass down the middle of the field to Davante Adams that was way off target and was almost picked. It should have been picked, the defensive back simply dropped it. To follow that up, the Raiders called a screen pass to Hunter Renfrow, who just fumbled two plays earlier, only for him to fumble again and the Cardinals to take it to the house.
It was a masterclass of poor coaching and Chargers fans just have to hope that these coaches continue their ways when the Bolts play them later in the season. If so, LA will have a massive coaching advantage.
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I know some Chargers fans aren't in love with Staley and definitely have been critical of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. At least the Chargers don't have Josh McDaniels or Nathaniel Hackett running the show.