The Los Angeles Chargers are fresh off their most devastating defeat in recent memory. This time around it was a 35-32 overtime defeat to the arch-rival Las Vegas Raiders that coincidentally ended the Chargers season.
Despite an incredible 15-point comeback in the final five minutes of the 4th quarter spearheaded by QB Justin Herbert, the Chargers were plagued by typical mistakes that have been a common occurrence over the last decade. Poor run defense late in the game, stupid penalties, and special teams' errors are just some of these repetitive issues.
As a result of this loss, the LA Chargers finish the 2021 season 3rd in the AFC West with a record of 9-8. After a 4-1 start to the season, the outlook was bright for rookie head coach Brandon Staley, however, the obvious shortcomings he was forced to deal with as a result of front office failure proved to be too much in the end.
The future does looks promising for the LA Chargers.
Justin Herbert has already proven himself as an elite NFL QB, the team has lots of elite talent outside of the quarterback such as Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, Rashawn Slater, Corey Linsley, Derwin James, and Joey Bosa, and on top of it all the team has a projected 11 draft picks and $70 million in salary cap room heading into the offseason.
However, despite the positive outlook, questions must be asked about the man in charge of it all, GM Tom Telesco, who has overseen the repeated failures on the field.
Throughout this article we'll discuss the Chargers history with Tom Telesco at the helm, and outline three reasons why his incompetency is the biggest reason the franchise continues to underwhelm.