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2020 Los Angeles Chargers season

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2020 Los Angeles Chargers season
OwnerDean Spanos
General managerTom Telesco
Head coachAnthony Lynn
Home fieldSoFi Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
2
AP All-ProsNone

The 2020 season was the Los Angeles Chargers' 51st in the National Football League (NFL), their 61st overall, their fifth in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and their fourth and final season under head coach Anthony Lynn. It also marks the Chargers' first season playing their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (which the team shares with the Los Angeles Rams), after using Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson as their temporary home stadium for the previous three seasons. This is also the Chargers' first season since 2007 with new uniforms, which were unveiled on April 21, 2020. The uniforms are somewhat similar in design to the ones they donned in their inaugural season in 1960.

After mutually agreeing to part ways, this was the first season since 2003 without quarterback Philip Rivers on the roster and the first since 2005 without Rivers as the starting quarterback. Rivers led the Chargers to six playoff appearances, starting every game since September 11, 2006. Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor was named starter, but following a medical mishap prior to week 2, he was replaced by rookie Justin Herbert. After a 45–0 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 13, the Chargers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive year. However, despite this, the Chargers rallied and won their last four games, bringing their record to 7–9, improving on their 5–11 season from the previous year.

At the conclusion of the 2020 season, the organization announced that Lynn was fired as head coach.[1] This season was highlighted by a string of blown 4th quarter leads. 8 of their 9 losses were by a deficit of 10 points or less. Despite the disappointing season, quarterback Justin Herbert was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Offseason

Signings

Position Player Age 2019 team Contract
G Trai Turner 26 Carolina Panthers
CB Chris Harris Jr. 30 Denver Broncos
T Bryan Bulaga 31 Green Bay Packers
TE Donald Parham 22 Dallas Renegades
LB Nick Vigil 26 Cincinnati Bengals
T Storm Norton 25 Los Angeles Wildcats
DT Linval Joseph 31 Minnesota Vikings
WR/RS Darius Jennings 27 Tennessee Titans
RB Derrick Gore 25 Los Angeles Chargers

Departures

Position Player Age 2020 team
QB Philip Rivers 38 Indianapolis Colts
RB Melvin Gordon 27 Denver Broncos
LB Nick Dzubnar 28 Tennessee Titans
OT Russell Okung 31 Carolina Panthers
FB Derek Watt 27 Pittsburgh Steelers
S Adrian Phillips 28 New England Patriots
WR Travis Benjamin 30 San Francisco 49ers
LB Jatavis Brown 26 Philadelphia Eagles
G Michael Schofield 29 Carolina Panthers

Draft

Main article: 2020 NFL Draft
2020 Los Angeles Chargers Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 6 Justin Herbert QB Oregon
23 Kenneth Murray LB Oklahoma
4 112 Joshua Kelley RB UCLA
5 151 Joe Reed WR Virginia
6 186 Alohi Gilman S Notre Dame
7 220 K. J. Hill WR Ohio State

Undrafted free agents

Despite signing a plethora of UDFAs (undrafted free agents), all were released during the initial roster cuts.

2020 Los Angeles Chargers Undrafted Free Agents
Player Position College Notes
Asmar Bilal LB Notre Dame
Darius Bradwell RB Tulane
John Brannon CB Western Carolina
Cole Christiansen LB Army
Jeff Cotton WR Idaho
Joshua Dunlop G UTSA
Breiden Fehoko NT LSU
Romeo Finley LB Miami
Joe Gaziano DE Northwestern
Nate Gilliam G Wake Forest
Bobby Holly FB Louisiana Tech
Jesse Lemonier DE Liberty
Kevin McGill CB Eastern Michigan
Gabe Nabers FB Florida State
Jared Rice TE Fresno State
Ryan Roberts T Florida State
Dalton Schoen WR Kansas State
T.J. Smith DT Arkansas
Donte Vaughn CB Notre Dame

Staff

2020 Los Angeles Chargers staff

Front office

  • Chairman/owner/president – Dean Spanos
  • Vice chairman – Michael Spanos
  • Executive vice president/coo/cfo – Jeanne M. Bonk
  • CEO/president – business operations – A. G. Spanos
  • General manager – Tom Telesco
  • President – football operations – John Spanos
  • Executive vice president of football administration/player finance – Ed McGuire
  • Director of pro scouting – Dennis Abraham
  • Senior director of pro personnel – Louis Clark
  • Director of player personnel – JoJo Wooden
  • Director of college scouting – Kevin Kelly

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Keith Burns
  • Senior coaching assistant – Chris Caminiti
  • Senior coaching assistant – Rip Scherer

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – John Lott
  • Assistant strength – Jonathan Brooks
  • Assistant strength – Tyker Judkins


Final roster

2020 Los Angeles Chargers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 12 reserve, 11 practice squad (+1 exempt)

Preseason

The Chargers' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Week Date Opponent Venue Result
1 August 16 Dallas Cowboys SoFi Stadium Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2 August 22 Los Angeles Rams SoFi Stadium
3 August 27 at Seattle Seahawks CenturyLink Field
4 September 3 at San Francisco 49ers Levi's Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

The Chargers' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.[2]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 13 at Cincinnati Bengals W 16–13 1–0 Paul Brown Stadium Recap
2 September 20 Kansas City Chiefs L 20–23 (OT) 1–1 SoFi Stadium Recap
3 September 27 Carolina Panthers L 16–21 1–2 SoFi Stadium Recap
4 October 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 31–38 1–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap
5 October 12 at New Orleans Saints L 27–30 (OT) 1–4 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
6 Bye[A]
7[A] October 25 Jacksonville Jaguars W 39–29 2–4 SoFi Stadium Recap
8[A] November 1 at Denver Broncos L 30–31 2–5 Empower Field at Mile High Recap
9 November 8 Las Vegas Raiders L 26–31 2–6 SoFi Stadium Recap
10[A] November 15 at Miami Dolphins L 21–29 2–7 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
11[A] November 22 New York Jets W 34–28 3–7 SoFi Stadium Recap
12 November 29 at Buffalo Bills L 17–27 3–8 Bills Stadium Recap
13 December 6 New England Patriots L 0–45 3–9 SoFi Stadium Recap
14 December 13 Atlanta Falcons W 20–17 4–9 SoFi Stadium Recap
15 December 17 at Las Vegas Raiders W 30–27 (OT) 5–9 Allegiant Stadium Recap
16 December 27 Denver Broncos W 19–16 6–9 SoFi Stadium Recap
17 January 3 at Kansas City Chiefs W 38–21 7–9 Arrowhead Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week One: Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 6 01016
Bengals 7 0 6013

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Game information

Week 2: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week Two: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Chiefs 0 6 311323
Chargers 7 7 33020

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Justin Herbert made an unexpected start after Taylor suffered an injury before the game.

Week 3: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week Three: Carolina Panthers at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Panthers 6 12 0321
Chargers 0 7 3616

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Week 4: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Four: Los Angeles Chargers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 14 10 7031
Buccaneers 7 7 141038

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

Week 5: at New Orleans Saints

Week Five: Los Angeles Chargers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Chargers 6 14 07027
Saints 3 7 314330

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

The Chargers face Drew Brees and the Saints for the fourth time. The Saints trailed earlier and made comeback attempts. At the conclusion of the fourth quarter, Michael Badgley attempted a game-winning field goal, but the ball hits the upright, resulting in both teams tying and going into overtime. Wil Lutz kicked a 36-yard field goal and the game continued. When Rookie quarterback, Justin Herbert, elected a 4th down conversion, his pass was completed, but Marshon Lattimore and Demario Davis stopped the Chargers from getting a 1st down, resulting in a Chargers' loss.

Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week Seven: Jacksonville Jaguars at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jaguars 0 14 15029
Chargers 9 7 20339

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

  • Date: October 25
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 68 °F (20 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Clete Blakeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Andrew Catalon, James Lofton and Sherree Burruss
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 8: at Denver Broncos

Week Eight: Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 14 10630
Broncos 3 0 72131

at Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: November 1
  • Game time: 2:05 p.m. MST/1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 5,231
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and Jay Feely
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 9: vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Week Nine: Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 7 14331
Chargers 0 17 3626

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Week 10: at Miami Dolphins

Week Ten: Los Angeles Chargers at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 7 7721
Dolphins 14 3 3929

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: November 15
  • Game time: 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 83 °F (28 °C)
  • Game attendance: 12,751
  • Referee: Jerome Boger
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and AJ Ross
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 11: vs. New York Jets

Week Eleven: New York Jets at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jets 6 0 13928
Chargers 7 17 7334

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

  • Date: November 22
  • Game time: 1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear, 69 °F (21 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and Jay Feely
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 12: at Buffalo Bills

Week Twelve: Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 6 0 8317
Bills 7 10 7327

at Bills Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: November 29
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 48 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Alex Kemp
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and Jay Feely
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 13: vs. New England Patriots

Week Thirteen: New England Patriots at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Patriots 7 21 71045
Chargers 0 0 000

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

  • Date: December 6
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear, 70 °F (21 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Amanda Balionis
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

With the shutout loss against New England, Los Angeles fell to 3–9 and was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

Week 14: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week Fourteen: Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 10 0017
Chargers 7 3 7320

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

  • Date: December 13
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Davis, Brock Huard and Jenny Taft
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 15: at Las Vegas Raiders

Week Fifteen: Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Chargers 7 10 70630
Raiders 3 7 77327

at Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada

Game information

Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos

Week Sixteen: Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 0 31316
Chargers 3 10 0619

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Week 17: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week Seventeen: Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 17 7738
Chiefs 7 7 0721

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Standings

Division

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) Kansas City Chiefs 14 2 0 .875 4–2 10–2 473 362 L1
Las Vegas Raiders 8 8 0 .500 4–2 6–6 434 478 W1
Los Angeles Chargers 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 384 426 W4
Denver Broncos 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 323 446 L3

Conference

AFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1 Kansas City Chiefs West 14 2 0 .875 4–2 10–2 .465 .464 L1
2 Buffalo Bills East 13 3 0 .813 6–0 10–2 .512 .471 W6
3 Pittsburgh Steelers North 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 .475 .448 L1
4[a] Tennessee Titans South 11 5 0 .688 5–1 8–4 .475 .398 W1
Wild Cards
5[b][c] Baltimore Ravens North 11 5 0 .688 4–2 7–5 .494 .401 W5
6[c][d] Cleveland Browns North 11 5 0 .688 3–3 7–5 .451 .406 W1
7[a][b][d] Indianapolis Colts South 11 5 0 .688 4–2 7–5 .443 .384 W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8 Miami Dolphins East 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .467 .347 L1
9 Las Vegas Raiders West 8 8 0 .500 4–2 6–6 .539 .477 W1
10[e] New England Patriots East 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 .527 .429 W1
11[e] Los Angeles Chargers West 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 .482 .344 W4
12 Denver Broncos West 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .566 .388 L3
13 Cincinnati Bengals North 4 11 1 .281 1–5 4–8 .529 .438 L1
14 Houston Texans South 4 12 0 .250 2–4 3–9 .541 .219 L5
15 New York Jets East 2 14 0 .125 0–6 1–11 .594 .656 L1
16 Jacksonville Jaguars South 1 15 0 .063 1–5 1–11 .549 .688 L15
Tiebreakers[f]
  1. ^ a b Tennessee finished ahead of Indianapolis based on division record.
  2. ^ a b Baltimore finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory. Division tiebreaker used to eliminate Cleveland (see below).
  3. ^ a b Baltimore finished ahead of Cleveland based on head-to-head sweep.
  4. ^ a b Cleveland finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory.
  5. ^ a b New England finished ahead of the LA Chargers based on head-to-head victory.
  6. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e The following four games were moved to accommodate the postponement of the Week 5 game Denver-New England game due to several New England players testing positive for COVID-19: Week 6 vs. New York Jets moved to Week 11, Week 7 at Miami moved to Week 10, Week 8 vs Jacksonville moved to Week 7, and Week 11 at Denver moved to Week 8. The Chargers' bye week moved from Week 10 to Week 6.

References

  1. ^ Shelley Smith (January 4, 2021). "Los Angeles Chargers fire Anthony Lynn after four seasons as coach". espn.com. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
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