The Chargers snapped their three-game losing streak by beating the Patriots on Sunday.
As we look back, here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from Week 13:
The Good
Special teams: In a game with very little offense, the Chargers’ special teams ruled the day. JK Scott saw the field quite a bit. Eight times, to be exact. In seven of those punts, he landed them inside the 20-yard line, which was a Chargers single-game franchise record. Four of them were inside the Patriots’ 10. The disadvantageous field position made it difficult for New England to move the ball. Cameron Dicker made both of his field goals. Derius Davis returned a punt for 34 yards to eventually set up Dicker for one of his field goals.
Defense: The Patriots don’t have a prolific offense, but that doesn’t mean the defense doesn’t deserve its praise. In this league, it’s hard to hold any team to zero points and that’s what the Chargers did. It was their first shutout since Week 7 of the 2017 season that came in a 21-0 win over the Broncos. Los Angeles held New England to 109 net passing yards, produced five sacks and a turnover and kept them out of the red zone.
The Bad
Dropped passes: The Chargers’ passing offense did not have much life, which can be attributed to the weather conditions. But there were still a few missed opportunities that hampered the group. Los Angeles dropped at least four passes – one each by Quentin Johnston, Austin Ekeler, Joshua Kelley and Donald Parham.
Third-down playcalling: The Chargers went 5 of 15 on third down, which was not characteristic of them, considering they were in the top 10 in the category entering the Week 13 game. I mentioned the weather conditions, but the situational football struggles fell primarily on the shoulders of Kellen Moore, whose playcalling was questionable.
The Ugly
Run offense: Moore was brought in to fix the running game. However, that still has not materialized. The run game once again failed to produce, totaling 29 yards on 24 carries. We are entering Week 14 and the Chargers have the 25th ranked rushing offense.