Melvin Gordon’s return won’t solve the Chargers’ biggest problem (but Derwin James might)

The Chargers were prepared for Melvin Gordon’s contract holdout. The combination of Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson have been potent in Gordon’s stead, providing a heady dose of running and receiving out of the backfield.

Despite this, Los Angeles is just 1-2 to start the season and two games behind the Chiefs team it’ll battle for AFC West supremacy this fall. And though Gordon has reported to the team after a two-month absence to pump up an already powerful tailback depth chart, he may not be the balm that soothes the burn of the last two weeks.

The Chargers have sputtered to a disappointing beginning, handling the Colts in a Week 1 overtime win and then botching winnable contests against the Lions and Texans. There’s a good chance they would have been under .500 even with their Pro Bowl back in the lineup. So what’s wrong with Los Angeles during its lackluster start?

The Chargers have several stars among their defense, but there’s nothing connecting these bright spots to form a larger constellation. Through three games, a pass rush led by Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa has just four sacks. A secondary propped up by Casey Hayward and Desmond King has allowed opposing quarterbacks to post a 116.8 passer rating against it.

As a result, LA ranks 22nd in the league in yards allowed per play — sandwiched between winless teams Washington (21st), Pittsburgh (23rd), and Arizona (24th).

Bosa and Ingram have had difficulty turning their outside rush into sacks, but their numbers suggest that won’t last. The two have combined for 22 pressures and 17 quarterback hits between them, the latter number being more than any other teammate pairing in the league.

Even though Hayward isn’t playing up to his 2017 All-Pro status, he’s still allowed just 50 percent of his targets to turn into completions from his spot in the slot. King has effectively scared quarterbacks from looking in his direction; per SIS, he’s only been targeted five times through three games. Those four aren’t putting up big numbers yet, but they aren’t the source of LA’s woes.

That leaves one glaring problem that’s created a soft underbelly for opponents to claw at in the middle of the field. 36-year-old middle linebacker Thomas Davis leads the team in tackles, though he’s no longer the kind of player who can rush to the line of scrimmage with consistency to stop developing plays. His average tackle depth has risen in each of his last four seasons, going from 3.4 yards in 2015 to 6.0 this year. While his numbers are solid on the surface, he’s not the drive-killing safety net he once was.

Kyzir White has emerged as a steady tackler at linebacker, which is a much-needed asset. Opposing quarterbacks have been able to pick him apart when he’s left to cover more athletic targets, however, which is bad. Denzel Perryman and Uchenna Nwosu haven’t been great in rotational duty alongside him, combining for five missed or broken tackles in 18 opportunities. Jatavis Brown, who made 10 starts in 2018, has only played 11 special teams snaps this season thanks in part to an ankle injury.

There’s more trouble behind them. Losing Derwin James to a broken foot in the preseason has been a significant problem for LA’s safety rotation. Adrian Phillips and Rayshawn Jenkins have struggled to replace what the versatile playmaker has brought to the table. They’ve given up more than 7.5 yards per target each time opposing QBs have dialed their number this fall.

As a result, when QBs are able to buy time in the pocket the Chargers’ second level starts to look like Swiss cheese. Here’s Deshaun Watson using his time in the pocket to take advantage of that weakness for his first touchdown in Week 3:

Slants and other plays that use the middle of the field, like Houston’s 34-yard slant-and-run strike to DeAndre Hopkins on third-and-3 in the third quarter, also exploit these weaknesses. Those are just two of 15 plays where the Texans gained 10 yards or more. Houston ran 55 plays from scrimmage all afternoon.

These below-average performances have paired with some All-Pro players to create a swirling storm of mediocrity in September. The team’s offense looks strong enough to overcome these lapses, at least on paper. Only four teams in the NFL have gained more yards than LA through three weeks. But that ability to move the chains efficiently has been wiped out by a distinct inability to find the end zone; Rivers and Co. have only scored 20 points per game in 2019.

That’s because ...

There’s a certain history at play when you consider San Diego’s former franchise. Few things get in the way of the Chargers quite like the Chargers themselves. Even when this team plans for the worst, the football gods still find a way to stick it in and break it off.

Take Week 2’s loss to the Lions for example. A preseason injury to Michael Badgley robbed them of a kicker who’d made nearly 94 percent of his field goal attempts a year before. Los Angeles was prepared for this; punter Ty Long was also an accomplished NCAA and CFL placekicker. Having him on the roster gave the team a valuable plan B without having to make a roster move while Badgley recovered.

It worked like a charm in Week 1. Long was been named AFC special teams player of the week in the Chargers’ debut after converting all four of his kicks (one field goal, three extra points).

So, of course, he’d go on to miss a pair of field goal attempts from 41 yards or shorter against Detroit in a three-point loss seven days later.

Long wasn’t the only player to brain fart his way through Week 2. Flags took two different touchdowns off the board in a third quarter drive. Moments later Ekeler, the go-to runner with Gordon missing, would attempt to dive into the end zone from the Lions’ 1-yard line and have the ball punched out of his hands on first down. Detroit recovered and went three-and-out. The Chargers got zero points off the ensuing solid field position due to a holding penalty and a Long miss.

Even Rivers got in on the action, suffering a delay of game penalty on third-and-14 with 1:10 left in the game, then heaving a drive-killing interception into double coverage moments later.

These are all extremely Chargers ways to lose. Things got better in the loss to the Texans, but LA still lost the penalty battle — mostly notably with a hold that wiped out a third-down pass to Mike Williams that would have set up first-and-goal late in a seven-point game. The Chargers also converted just five of 15 third down attempts, including one in Texans territory that ended in a Rivers fumble.

This could all be corrected in the near future, or it could be the nightmare fuel that haunts another wasted year of Rivers’ waning career. Fortunately for Los Angeles, a look at its upcoming opponents suggests there’s room for the former.

LA’s slate gets pretty dang soft right around the time Gordon’s expected to return to the lineup. Its opponents in Weeks 4-6 — the Dolphins, Broncos, and Steelers — have combined for zero wins thus far in 2019. The Chargers also get the Titans and Jaguars in their non-division schedule and have three games remaining against Denver and Oakland after October. There’s plenty of room to get to 10 wins even without some resume-headlining wins.

Then consider Gordon’s addition. He’s joining a rotation that’s averaged 5.4 yards per carry and more than eight catches per game even without him in the lineup. Once he’s game ready — which may be as soon as Week 4 with Jackson ailing — he’ll play a major role in the playbook, especially as a player who has cut down his fumble rate from six in 14 games as a rookie to two over his last two seasons. He’ll add to a strength while patching up a very LA weakness (ball control) in one fell swoop.

Gordon and Ekeler will combine to form one of the league’s toughest-to-defend receiving units from the backfield, which should take some of the burden from Keenan Allen downfield. The wideout has been more than worthy of Rivers’ attention, leading the league in both receptions (29) and receiving yards (404). Gordon’s return could cut into his usage, but it may also make him more dangerous as safeties pick their poison between two targets who can rack up massive yards after the catch. It should also lead to more big plays from budding wideout Williams.

The more important addition, however, will be James. He can’t return until after Week 8 and the stress fracture in his foot could keep him off the field until December, but his hard-hitting safety play and vision from the back end will shut the gaping flaws in the middle of the field that have proven fatal early in LA. The Chargers still have the talent of a contender, especially in a top-heavy AFC that should leave many opportunities for teams to shake off slow starts and rally to the postseason.

The hope is the addition of full-strength Gordon and James will provide the extra horsepower this engine needs to reach top speed — and to coast over any self-inflicted potholes en route to the playoffs.