The LA Chargers started the 2021 season on the right foot with a 20-16 victory over the Washington Football Team in Week 1. It was a tough, gritty game as the Chargers were able to outlast Washington and as Brandon Staley stressed, finish the game with the football.
The final margin of the game was only four points and the only reason it was that close was some of the mistakes that the Bolts made. Washington scored nine points off of penalties alone and the Chargers were not efficient in the red zone.
While Washington deserves credit for clamping down, the Chargers could have scored another 11 or so points with some small changes. This could have been a 30-16 game with the Chargers kneeling in the red zone to end the game, but I digress.
We did not know exactly what to expect in terms of snap counts and playing time in this game. Most of the starters did not play at all in the preseason and this team has been very cautious in keeping guys healthy.
When the dust settled, there were two standout snap counts on the LA Chargers that were surprising.
#Chargers snap counts from yesterday pic.twitter.com/tS091d51dn
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) September 13, 2021
The snap counts are going to change week-by-week based on performance and the matchup, so these snap counts are not set in stone. This is also by no means an attempt to say that Staley was wrong for these specific snap counts. This staff knows better than anyone outside the team.
One player on the offensive side of the ball and one player on the defensive side of the ball stood out in terms of snap counts. Let's dive into those surprises.