Chargers’ running game is a problem
The Chargers have proven they can go on a three-game run, but they can’t seem to manage a three-yard run.
Their success is sparking a groundswell of enthusiasm, but they’ve have had little success on the ground.
The most significant number from Sunday was 33-14, the final score in the Chargers’ victory over the Jaguars. But the team gaining 42 yards on 20 carries? That’s not a stat you can ignore.
San Diego came into this game averaging 2.4 yards per carry -- last in the NFL by .7 yards. Sunday, they figured out a way to lower that average, and the thing of it is -- it was worse than it looked.
Nineteen of those 42 yards -- all by way of running back Branden Oliver -- came on the Chargers’ final drive, with the game virtually locked up. Other than that, the offense suffered a drop-off with just about every handoff.
“We’ve got to work on the running game. We’ll get better. We have to get better. We don’t have a choice,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said. “We’ll find a solution to that problem.”
If the Chargers’ were looking for an excuse to explain their rushing struggles, there are few circumstances they could point to. They could say that they’ve been without Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead for the past two games, both of whom are out with injuries. They could also say that their first three opponents of the season entered Sunday ranked second (Buffalo), third (Arizona) and fourth (Seattle) in the league in rushing defense.
Still, to be completely ineffective on the run? To rely wholeheartedly on Philip Rivers’ arm? It may be working for now, but it’s hardly a sustainable model.
“I don’t think we can win a bunch of games having 40 yards rushing or whatever it was we had. But we can win some games,” Rivers said. “We’ve just got to keep staying with it.”
Before the Chargers met the Bills two games ago, Donald Brown’s career-high carry total was 18. Since then, he has carried the ball 41 times for 81 yards -- good for 1.9 yards per rush.
Sunday, Brown totaled 19 yards on 10 runs. And while he was pleased with the win, he was far from ecstatic about his contribution.
“Not very good,” said Brown when asked to evaluate his performance. “We need to improve. We need to take the pressure off of Rivers and the wide receivers. It’s going to take patience and perseverance. We just have to keep grinding.”
Where the problem lies, nobody will really specify. Having the top two running backs out certainly figures into the lack of the production, but the holes haven’t been vast, either.
What’s becoming clear, however, is that improving the run is becoming more of an emphasis with each passing week.
“It’s a process. The good thing is we got time to get better,” Chargers left tackle King Dunlap said. “We can’t really go too much lower than we already are.”
