The LA Chargers are heading into the final three weeks of the season looking to make the playoffs for the first time in three years. At 8-6, the Chargers have a good chance of making the playoffs but they have to execute in the last three weeks. The Chargers have three seemingly easy games against Houston, Denver and Las Vegas, but as we know, anything can happen.
The Chargers have to play to their full potential and that might mean that certain players have to stop getting playing time. The team's success is the most important thing and the Bolts might be better off if these players take a back seat for the rest of the year.
Here are the 3 LA Chargers who should be benched the rest of the season:
1. Kenneth Murray
I have been coming to the defense of Kenneth Murray this season but the fact of the matter is that he has not played very well. The hope was that he would play better when healthy but he has not been much better and is not impactful on this defense.
Murray got booted from being an inside linebacker as he struggled in Brandon Staley's defense and has been put on the edge as an edge rusher. The results there have not been great as well as he has not generated any meaningful pressures (he generated one garbage-time pressure) and let up a really ugly touchdown off the edge against the Giants.
Murray is insanely athletic and the Chargers should hang onto him and hope that he can figure out how to succeed in this scheme next season. For now, the Chargers are better off giving Chris Rumph some more snaps on the edge and using Murray's athleticism on kickoffs. Maybe not kick returns, but kickoffs.
Of course, as is the case with each player on this list, if there are injuries or players cannot suit up because of covid-19 then Murray is going to have to play. In a perfect world, he should probably be benched the rest of the year.
2. Joshua Kelley
Joshua Kelley could have had one of the worst moments of the entire season for the LA Chargers and was saved by Uchenna Nwosu. Kelley fumbled on a goal-line dive attempt against the Chiefs and turned the ball over. Luckily, Nwosu picked off Patrick Mahomes on a really good heads-up play and the fumble didn't really matter.
If the Chiefs would have driven down the field there and scored and the game did not even go to overtime then all of the blame would have been put on Kelley. Instead, people are talking more about Brandon Staley's decision to go for it on fourth-down so much.
While Kelley may have dodged a bullet, the coaching staff certainly remembers what happens and there really is no reason for him to get involved much more in the offense. Kelley already is not very impactful and that fumble at the goal-line should have been the nail in the coffin.
Larry Rountree has not been very good this season either but he at least showed us that he can score a touchdown on a goal-line carry (and not jump three yards early). The very limited number of RB3 snaps should probably go to Rountree.
However, the Bolts really do not need to give many snaps to the RB3 to end the season. While there will obviously be opportunities if there are any blowouts, the team should really just be game-planning for Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson. Jackson played a really good game against the Chiefs and I would much rather see him get a higher snap count rather than giving the RB3 important snaps near the goal line.
3. Tevaughn Campbell
Tevaughn Campbell has been playing a lot of snaps out of necessity for the LA Chargers and has been playing really poorly. To be fair, him being benched is completely dependent on the status of Asante Samuel Jr. Samuel suffered two concussions in a three-week span and is still yet to return.
Samuel's long-term health is obviously the most important thing but there are really promising signs that he should play moving forward. Samuel was a game-time decision against the Chiefs and with a 10-day lay-off, it feels safe to say that he will play against the Texans as long as there are not any setbacks.
Once Samuel returns Campbell should not see the field anymore. Some may argue that he should spend time in the slot and he will probably get some snaps just out of necessity, but Chris Harris should be playing in the slot. While Harris was hunted a bit against the Chiefs, he has been much better over the last month or so and is certainly better than Campbell.
Campbell's numbers are staggeringly bad this season. According to PFF, he was targeted six times on Thursday and allowed five receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown. Patrick Mahomes had a 147.2 passer rating when throwing his direction.
Overall this season, Campbell has been targeted 59 times in 404 coverage snaps. He has allowed 44 receptions for 557 yards. He has four penalties, three pass break-ups, and has allowed a 109.2 passer rating when targeted. Campbell has allowed the 10th-worst passer rating against among corners with at least 400 coverage snaps this season.
MORE: Week 15 outcomes that help the Chargers playoff chances
Against the Broncos and Raiders, who are two of the Chargers' three remaining opponents, Campbell was targeted a combined seven times. He allowed seven receptions.