Coming into the start of the Los Angeles Chargers season, the main question was whether disgruntled running back Melvin Gordon would show up or not. And if he chose not to, how much this would affect the Chargers. This kind of puts Gordon in a position where he has to hope that his backups do not succeed – otherwise it makes his case for getting paid weaker. Ultimately, the backups Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson (but mostly Ekeler) played key roles in giving the Chargers the 30-24 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Melvin Gordon Not Missed by Los Angeles Chargers in Win
When We Last Left Gordon…
Prior to the game, the last we’d heard about Melvin Gordon’s holdout was that general manager Tom Telesco had stopped negotiating with him. Originally, they had offered $10 million a year, but Gordon (or his agent?) demanded closer to $12-14 million. Now, Telesco has basically said that Gordon is going to either play on his original 2019 salary of $5.4 million – or not at all. Of course, the issue for Gordon is that this isn’t like Le’Veon Bell last year, where he becomes a free agent if he sits out all year. His contract will just roll back to next year, so he has to show up eventually.
But in the meantime, he has not shown up and that leaves us with Ekeler and Jackson. Anthony Lynn has elected to have them share carries. Ekeler has shown that he can indeed have flashes as a runner, but he’s also been shown to be better as the resident James White/Darren Sproles type. Justin Jackson has a higher ceiling and can be surprisingly quick. It could be argued that Jackson should be getting the bulk of the carries. But either way, it worked out today.
Ekeler’s Big Performance
Ekeler played a key role in the Chargers win, as he scored three all-purpose touchdowns. Most of his early touches were via receptions. He finished with six catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns, which included a 55-yard dump-off catch that he turned into a beautiful long run with a few broken tackles. Then in overtime, he got more touches as a runner and ultimately scored the game-winning touchdown. He finished with 12 carries for 58 yards.
Justin Jackson didn’t get as many carries, but he made the most of them. He finished with six carries for 57 yards and pulled in one reception for four yards as well. While the Chargers did seem to focus more on the passing game (and with fair reason), the running game was no slouch. They finished with 125 rushing yards as a team. And Ekeler’s all-purpose play was key to them getting the victory.
One has to wonder now how Gordon feels about all this. As previously stated, Ekeler or Jackson being successful hurts his “pay me” case. But surely he can’t want to root for his team to fail without him, right? It’s a weird position to be in, and it certainly makes it seem like Gordon has his own interests at heart more than he does the team – or winning.
Last Word on the Chargers Win
This certainly wasn’t the prettiest win for the Chargers – they blew a lead against a Colts team that was without the retired Andrew Luck, and then needed overtime to finish it off. Chargers fans certainly had to feel nervous. They are going to have to work on their run defense, as they gave up 203 yards on the ground.
Still, the offense showed up today and they got the win and that’s ultimately what matters. And furthermore, they showed that they don’t necessarily need Melvin Gordon to win games. That has to make the team and their fans feel good moving forward. If/when Gordon ends his holdout, it’ll certainly be good to see him play. But him not being around isn’t leaving the Chargers in huge trouble. Next up, the Chargers will be facing the Detroit Lions.
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