Brandon Staley shares thoughts on Chargers loss' against Chiefs

September 18, 2022

In Week 2 of the 2022 NFL regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated Los Angeles Chargers with a tight 27-24 score. Following that, the Chargers' head coach Brandon Staley gave his opinion on their loss against Patrick Mahomes and his team.

"It’s just a tough moment," Staley said. "It’s one of those unlucky plays in a ball game. I think that we’ll learn a lot from it. In that sequence, we’re trying to push the pace, force them to communicate after a big play. We’re just trying to get down there and force that defense to respond."

Despite the loss, the Chargers QB Justin Herbert and tight end Gerald Everett have “come together quickly” through the first two weeks of the NFL regular season, according to Nick Cothrel of Sports Illustrated.

As the Chargers’ recent signing in this offseason, Everett managed to lead the team offense in two games, against the Las Vegas Raiders and the Chiefs. He caught for a total of 125 receiving yards.

However, in the Chiefs-Chargers matchup, the combination of Herbert and Everett was “out of sync” with one another came early in the fourth quarter, according to Cothrel.

Herbert, who played as starting QB, had hit Everett on consecutive plays, gaining seven yards run and followed up a 26-yard play.

After several successful plays, Herbert looked in Everett’s run direction again, however, the Chiefs’ Jaylen Watson stole the ball and tallied a 99-yard touchdown return run.

The Chargers adjusted Herbert-Everett's 26-yard play that set them up at the goal line. However, with the Chargers making an approach to play faster, they could not get into the goal line again which led to the Chargers making turnovers. Staley called the situation a “big momentum swing.”

"When the play doesn’t express itself right away, I think that we can learn from it on both sides. Just a tough one," Staley said.

"Obviously, that turned the tide of the game. That was a big momentum swing, but we’ll learn a lot from it and we’ll move forward. I thought Gerald competed at a really high-level last night. He gave us a real chance in the game and I’m really proud of how he is playing for us right now.”

Miscommunication leads to Chargers’ loss

Staley explained that the Chargers were trying to play a similar strategy as they did on the goal line play, however, he reasoned that it did not work due to “miscommunication” between Herbert and Everett.

“Gerald has a route to the flat, and if he’s matched to the flat, which he was, then what we teach him is to snap back in and try to get a box out, outside-in, on the guy," Staley said.

"That’s what Justin was anticipating. It just didn’t happen as quickly as I think either one would have hoped. That’s where the miscommunication was.”

With the miscommunication between Herbert and Everett that led to the Chargers’ loss, there are several problems to be encountered regarding their connection.

Moreover, despite the loss, as Everett finished with a total of 71 receiving yards on six receptions, the Chargers could utilize him as a tight end regularly for the upcoming games, according to Cothrel.

For Week 3, the Chargers will be up against the Jacksonville Jaguars at SoFi Stadium on September 25, and Staley has 10 days to make several tactical adjustments before the game kicked off.

Jake
Jake Williams
Jake Williams is a sports gambling expert. He's been writing in the sports betting and DFS industry for over a decade. He specializes in MLB and NBA, along with College Basketball and College Football.