The LA Chargers fell to the San Francisco 49ers 15-10 at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. Compared to the first preseason game against the Rams, the Chargers seemed a little sluggish on the offensive side of the ball in this one.
The stat sheet would indicate that they only scored three fewer points, but they didn't move the ball nearly as consistently from drive to drive. On the other side of the ball, however, there was a defensive showcase in quite a few sections of the game.
LA Chargers who impressed the most against the San Francisco 49ers:
K Michael Badgley
Tristan Vizcaino seemed like he was ready to put an end to the kicking competition. He hit two field goals last week and had been more consistent in practice vs. the Niners than Michael Badgley this week. But on the Chargers' last practice against San Francisco, he went 3 for 6 with GM Tom Telesco watching:
Field goal results:
— Fernando Ramirez (@RealFRamirez) August 19, 2021
Vizcaino goes 3/6 misses from 33,50,52
Badgley goes 5/6 misses from 50
Same distances for both. #Chargers kicker battle is on!!
The kicking competition wasn't cracked wide open after Thursday, yet the door was left ajar for Badgley. He took advantage of the opportunity against the 49ers with a 50-yard field goal to extend the Chargers' lead and an early PAT.
One 50-yard field goal certainly won't determine the kicking competition, but the last week or so has given Badgley life. There's still work to do in Week 3, as Badgley trails Vizcaino by about eight percent on field goals + PAT percentage throughout training camp (including fan fest, preseason games as well).
Hitting from distance will get the attention of the coaching staff and keep the competition competitive though, especially after Vizcaino's Thursday struggles.
Badgley also converted two touchbacks on kickoffs. It'll be interesting to see how Staley sends out the kickers in Week 3 of the preseason at Seattle. Both games have been largely one-sided in kicker usage with Vizcaino getting almost all of the opportunities in Week 1's first half, followed up by Badgley doing the same in Week 2.
Personally, my faith in either Badgley or Vizcaino during the regular season is tenuous at best. But if the first three weeks were scored for Vizcaino during training camp, the last week has definitely belonged to Badgley.