I’m not surprised to see this question pop up at this point in the season. It’s understandable after following a offseason that was chalk-full of pundits and analysts Caleb Sturgis Color Rush Jersey , alike, staking the claim that the Chargers’ had the best group of wide receivers heading into the 2018 season.However, that claim is losing some footing after three-straight weeks of single-catch performances for Mike Williams prior to last Sunday’s zero-target game versus the Oakland Raiders.After a slow start to the season, Tyrell Williams has definitely upped his productivity/efficiency and Keenan Allen finally got back into the endzone for the first time since week 1 against the Chiefs.Are the Chargers’ wideouts really overrated? I personally do not think so. In fact, I think it comes down to a few key stats.The Chargers are near the top of the league in terms of total offense per game but find themselves near the middle or bottom in passing statistics such as Passing Attempts Per Game, Total Passing Attempts, and Passing Yard Per Game where they rank 30th (out of 32), 24th, and 13th, respectively.So it is not so much that the Chargers’ wideouts are underperforming but that the team hasn’t thrown it nearly as much as some of the other top teams. With Melvin performing at such a high rate on the ground, Rivers hasn’t been asked to sling it nearly as much as Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, or Jared Goff.Pancakes, fasho.Also, I still think Derwin James has a lead on Desmond King as the team’s defensive MVP. King has the interceptions and the lone pick-6, but James has the better all-around stats. He has an interception to his name, 3.5 sacks, and he leads the team in tackles.As a rookie safety, you can’t get much better than that.Honestly, I don’t think anything with this game, good or bad, would cause me to lose faith in this team for the rest of the season. Even if it was a blowout, I would not lose faith. Would I be extremely pissed and use every ditry, filthy, disgusting word in the dictionary to help myself vent my frustration? No s***.But after seeing the Buffalo Bills embarrass the Minnesota Vikings at Minnesota earlier this season, I gotta keep in mind that crazy things can happen any given Sunday.My worst case scenario for this game, however, would be a complete shutdown of the run defense.Case Keenum is not going to put the team on his back in this one. If the Broncos are looking for a victory Mike Pouncey Color Rush Jersey , it will have to be delivered on the back of Phillip Lindsay. I don’t know how plausible that scenario since the Broncos are now down one of their starting guards and center for the foreseeable future.As I look over the Broncos’ roster, I don’t see many glaring holes within it. With a top-ten pick, teams will usually look for the important positions such as quarterback, offensive tackle, edge rusher, and cornerback. However, the Broncos are fairly solid at all these spots (minus QB but that can’t be my choice).I think the Broncoswould be wise to take one of the top OTs in the draft in order to groom behind Jared Veldheer as the former Arizona Cardinal is currently on the wrong side of 30.A guy like Alabama’s Jonah Williams or Ole Miss’ Greg Little would be an excellent choice. While Williams has a higher floor, Little would provide elite athleticism for the position and most of his issues can be coached up once he is out of the Rebel’s pass-happy offense.I wouldn’t mind this move, actually. Adrian Phillips has grown in his role as that dime linebacker after his first season seeing major action in 2017. He looks like he put on some weight and better prepared his body for the things the coaches have asked of him. It is such a shame to see Kyzir White slowly disappear into irrelevancy following a bright start to the season but Phillips has done a phenomenal job of allowing the defense to not skip a beat. Now without MLB Denzel Perryman on the year, the middle of the Chargers’ defense is going to look much lighter going forward. LB Jatavis Brown is only 225 pounds and Hayes Pullard is not much more at 230.If the linebacking core is going to get smaller regardless, I’d prefer to gain some extra MPHs, in return. Opposing defenses are learning that Austin Ekeler is just as effective a running back as Melvin Gordon for the Los Angeles Chargers.The second-year running back scored his third touchdown of the season on a 44-yard swing pass from Philip Rivers to lead the Chargers to a 26-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.“He’s got some juice now. He can really run,” Rivers said. “I think he’s one of those, you don’t realize how fast he is running until you have to chase him, which I never have, but I’ve seen a lot of guys do it. That was impressive.”Ekeler, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017, made two Oakland defenders miss at the Raiders 40, got a block from Keenan Allen and then went up the left sideline, putting the Chargers ahead for good.“Moves into open space, that’s how you can make your money in this league as a running back,” Ekeler said. “That’s where I think I excel and what I’m going to keep doing, winning one-on-ones.”Ekeler has 410 yards from scrimmage, with 207 coming via receptions. He has six touchdowns in his career and is three away from tying Dan Reeves for most TD catches by an undrafted player in his first two years in the league. Reeves had nine with Dallas 1965-66.“You wish we would have signed him. He’s running hard, he’s making people miss,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “He has the flexibility to line up in the backfield or in the slot. He’s a sharp customer who knows how to play the game.”Ekeler and Gordon are averaging 201 yards from scrimmage for the Chargers. Gordon is third among NFL running backs at 119 yards per game, and Ekeler is 12th at 82.Gordon had 120 yards from scrimmage against the Raiders (58 rushing, 62 receiving) Isaac Rochell Color Rush Jersey , including a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put the Chargers up 17-3.Rivers was 22 of 27 for 339 yards with two touchdowns and a 143.4 passer rating. He completed passes to seven players, but as he noted, no one had a big yardage day.“It wasn’t an eight-catch, 150-yard day for anybody, but you look up and there’s 330 yards passing and a lot of guys touched the ball,” Rivers said. “It was efficient. We ran it well enough and we didn’t turn it over. When you do that you have a good chance for a win.”Here are some other things to know from Sunday’s Raiders-Chargers game:STURGIS’ FUTURE IN DOUBT?The Chargers signed punter Donnie Jones last Tuesday to also be the holder on field goals and extra points, thinking that it would help solve Caleb Sturgis‘ struggles. If the results of one game are any indication, it hasn’t.Sturgis made two field goals, but he also missed his fourth extra point of the season and was wide left on a 48-yard attempt on the last play of the first half.The sixth-year kicker has missed four extra points this season, equaling the amount he had over three seasons in Philadelphia from 2015-17.“The extra point did bother me a little bit, but we’ll figure out what happened there,” said Chargers coach Anthony Lynn when asked about Sturgis’ struggles. “He’s been kicking with a lot of confidence, so I’m not concerned about it.”ON THE LINEThe Raiders had a pair of rookie tackles starting in a game for the first time since the 1970 merger, with Kolton Miller at left tackle and Brandon Parker on the right side. Oakland allowed three sacks, but quarterback Derek Carr wasn’t ready to single them out.“I thought they played really well for it being a tough environment for them, against a great blitz package,” Carr said. “Everyone has plays. It’s easier to just find, ‘Ah, rookie offensive tackle, let’s blame him.”COSTLY MISTAKEOakland was putting together a nice drive during the third quarter and got to the Chargers’ 1 before Derek Carr threw an interception to Melvin Imgram in the end zone. A touchdown would have brought the Raiders within 10 with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter, but it basically ended all hopes for a comeback.Carr has more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (seven) after the first five games in Gruden’s offense. Gruden says that the fifth-year quarterback is progressing, but Carr admitted after the game that he needs to quit pressing.“Those are the kinds of things where with my aggressiveness and his aggressiveness, we are learning and he does a great job communicating with me after stuff like that,” Carr said. “He doesn’t want me to stop being aggressive, but at the same time not forcing them, not pressing and sometimes to not make too many plays.”LONDON CALLINGBoth teams have “home” games at London’s Wembley Stadium the next two weeks. The Raiders will face the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday, while the Chargers take on the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 21.Oakland will practice at its facility before flying to London later in the week. Los Angeles will stay in Cleveland for four days after facing the Browns next Sunday before making the trip abroad.___Follow Joe Reedy at www.twitter.com/joereedy___
