2018 Los Angeles Chargers season

The 2018 season was the Los Angeles Chargers' 49th in the National Football League, their 59th overall, their third in the Greater Los Angeles Area and their second under head coach Anthony Lynn.

2018 Los Angeles Chargers season
OwnerAlex Spanos (until death, October 9)
Dean Spanos
General managerTom Telesco
Head coachAnthony Lynn
Home fieldStubHub Center
Results
Record12–4
Division place2nd AFC West
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(at Ravens) 23–17
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Patriots) 28–41
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3

Despite a slow 1–2 start, the Chargers improved on their 9–7 record from the previous year with a Week 14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. They also recorded a 10-win season for the first time since 2009 when they were in San Diego, also their first as a Los Angeles based team since 1960. With a Week 15 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chargers clinched their first playoff berth since 2013 when they were based in San Diego.

The Chargers finished 12–4, tied with the Chiefs for both the AFC West division title and the best record in the AFC. However, the Chiefs won the division and the AFC's No. 1 seed based on record vs. division opponents (5–1 to 4–2), giving the Chargers the Wild Card and the AFC's No. 5 seed. The Chargers defeated the Baltimore Ravens 23–17 in the wild-card round, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 41–28 in the divisional round. The season would prove to be their last where all of their games were played outdoors.

Offseason

Signings

Position Player Acquired from
CMike PounceyMiami Dolphins
TEVirgil GreenDenver Broncos
KCaleb SturgisPhiladelphia Eagles
PDonnie JonesPhiladelphia Eagles
QB Geno Smith New York Giants

Departures

Position Player Lost to
GKenny WigginsDetroit Lions
GMatt SlausonIndianapolis Colts
STre BostonArizona Cardinals
RBBranden OliverIndianapolis Colts

Draft

2018 Los Angeles Chargers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 17 Derwin James *  S Florida State
2 48 Uchenna Nwosu  LB USC
3 84 Justin Jones  DT NC State
4 119 Kyzir White  S West Virginia
5 155 Scott Quessenberry  C UCLA
6 191 Dylan Cantrell  WR Texas Tech
7 251 Justin Jackson  RB Northwestern Compensatory pick
      Made roster       Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Draft trades

  • The Chargers traded their seventh-round selection (234th overall) to Buffalo in exchange for quarterback Cardale Jones.
  • The Chargers were awarded a seventh-round compensatory pick (251st overall).

Staff

2018 Los Angeles Chargers staff
Front office
  • Owner/chairman/president – Dean Spanos
  • Executive vice president – Michael Spanos
  • 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
  • Senior executive – Randy Mueller
  • 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

Strength and conditioning

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

Final roster

2018 Los Angeles Chargers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 12 inactive, 10 practice squad

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 11 at Arizona Cardinals L 17–24 0–1 State Farm Stadium Recap
2 August 18 Seattle Seahawks W 24–14 1–1 StubHub Center Recap
3 August 25 New Orleans Saints L 7–36 1–2 StubHub Center Recap
4 August 30 at San Francisco 49ers W 23–21 2–2 Levi's Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

On January 11, the NFL announced that the Chargers would play host to the Tennessee Titans in one of the London Games at Wembley Stadium in London, England. It was the Chargers' second appearance in the International Series; the other being 2008. The game occurred during Week 7 (October 21), and was televised in the United States.[1]

The Chargers' regular season schedule was released on April 19.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 9 Kansas City Chiefs L 28–38 0–1 StubHub Center Recap
2 September 16 at Buffalo Bills W 31–20 1–1 New Era Field Recap
3 September 23 at Los Angeles Rams L 23–35 1–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
4 September 30 San Francisco 49ers W 29–27 2–2 StubHub Center Recap
5 October 7 Oakland Raiders W 26–10 3–2 StubHub Center Recap
6 October 14 at Cleveland Browns W 38–14 4–2 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap
7 October 21 Tennessee Titans W 20–19 5–2 United Kingdom Wembley Stadium (London) Recap
8 Bye
9 November 4 at Seattle Seahawks W 25–17 6–2 CenturyLink Field Recap
10 November 11 at Oakland Raiders W 20–6 7–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap
11 November 18 Denver Broncos L 22–23 7–3 StubHub Center Recap
12 November 25 Arizona Cardinals W 45–10 8–3 StubHub Center Recap
13 December 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 33–30 9–3 Heinz Field Recap
14 December 9 Cincinnati Bengals W 26–21 10–3 StubHub Center Recap
15 December 13 at Kansas City Chiefs W 29–28 11–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
16 December 22 Baltimore Ravens L 10–22 11–4 StubHub Center Recap
17 December 30 at Denver Broncos W 23–9 12–4 Broncos Stadium at Mile High Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week One: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 14 3 14738
Chargers 6 6 01628

at StubHub Center, Carson, California

Game information

Week 2: at Buffalo Bills

Week Two: Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 14 14 0331
Bills 0 6 7720

at New Era Field, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 3: at Los Angeles Rams

Week Three: Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 6 7 7323
Rams 14 7 14035

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Game information

Week 4: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week Four: San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 14 3 7327
Chargers 6 11 9329

at StubHub Center, Carson, California

Game information

Philip Rivers passed John Elway for eighth-most passing yards in NFL history.[2]

Week 5: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week Five: Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 3 0710
Chargers 3 14 3626

at StubHub Center, Carson, California

Game information

Week 6: at Cleveland Browns

Week Six: Los Angeles Chargers at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 14 14338
Browns 0 6 0814

at FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 7: vs. Tennessee Titans

NFL London Games

Week Seven: Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Titans 3 3 7619
Chargers 10 0 7320

at Wembley Stadium, London, England

  • Date: October 21
  • Game time: 6:30 a.m. PDT/2:30 p.m. BST
  • Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 84,301
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green, Bruce Arians and Melanie Collins
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks

Week Nine: Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 6 13 0625
Seahawks 7 3 0717

at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

Game information

Week 10: at Oakland Raiders

Week Ten: Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 10 7320
Raiders 3 0 036

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

Game information

Week 11: vs. Denver Broncos

Week Eleven: Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 7 7923
Chargers 6 7 6322

at StubHub Center, Carson, California

  • Date: November 18
  • Game time: 1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), clear
  • Game attendance: 25,462
  • Referee: Pete Morelli
  • TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts and Evan Washburn
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 12: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week Twelve: Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 10 0 0010
Chargers 0 28 14345

at StubHub Center, Carson, California

Game information

Week 13: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week Thirteen: Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 0 81833
Steelers 13 10 0730

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 14: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week Fourteen: Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bengals 3 9 0921
Chargers 7 10 3626

at StubHub Center, Carson, California

  • Date: December 9
  • Game time: 1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), clear
  • Game attendance: 25,358
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green, Bruce Arians and Melanie Collins
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 15: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week Fifteen: Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 7 71529
Chiefs 14 0 7728

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 16: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Week Sixteen: Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Ravens 3 3 10622
Chargers 0 3 7010

at StubHub Center, Carson, California

Game information

Philip Rivers eclipsed 4,000 yards at the same time as Tom Brady, becoming the third and fourth quarterback in NFL history to reach 4,000 yards in 10 seasons or more, joining Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.[3]

Week 17: at Denver Broncos

Week Seventeen: Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 7 7923
Broncos 0 3 069

at Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: December 30
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST/2:25 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), mostly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 75,947
  • Referee: John Parry
  • TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Division

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) Kansas City Chiefs 12 4 0 .750 5–1 10–2 565 421 W1
(5) Los Angeles Chargers 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 428 329 W1
Denver Broncos 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 329 349 L4
Oakland Raiders 4 12 0 .250 1–5 3–9 290 467 L1

Conference

# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1[lower-alpha 1] Kansas City Chiefs West 12 4 0 .750 5–1 10–2 .480 .401 W1
2[lower-alpha 2] New England Patriots East 11 5 0 .688 5–1 8–4 .482 .494 W2
3[lower-alpha 2] Houston Texans South 11 5 0 .688 4–2 9–3 .471 .435 W1
4 Baltimore Ravens North 10 6 0 .625 3–3 8–4 .496 .450 W3
Wild Cards
5[lower-alpha 1] Los Angeles Chargers West 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 .477 .422 W1
6 Indianapolis Colts South 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 .465 .456 W4
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 Pittsburgh Steelers North 9 6 1 .594 4–1–1 6–5–1 .504 .448 W1
8 Tennessee Titans South 9 7 0 .563 3–3 5–7 .520 .465 L1
9 Cleveland Browns North 7 8 1 .469 3–2–1 5–6–1 .516 .411 L1
10 Miami Dolphins East 7 9 0 .438 4–2 6–6 .469 .446 L3
11[lower-alpha 3] Denver Broncos West 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 .523 .464 L4
12[lower-alpha 3] Cincinnati Bengals North 6 10 0 .375 1–5 4–8 .535 .448 L2
13[lower-alpha 3] Buffalo Bills East 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 .523 .411 W1
14 Jacksonville Jaguars South 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .549 .463 L1
15[lower-alpha 4] New York Jets East 4 12 0 .250 1–5 3–9 .506 .438 L3
16[lower-alpha 4] Oakland Raiders West 4 12 0 .250 1–5 3–9 .547 .406 L1
Tiebreakers[lower-alpha 5]
  1. Kansas City finished ahead of LA Chargers based on division games.
  2. New England finished ahead of Houston based on head-to-head victory.
  3. Denver finished ahead of Cincinnati and Buffalo based on strength of victory. Cincinnati finished ahead of Buffalo based on record vs. common opponents. Cincinnati's cumulative record against Baltimore, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami was 3–2, compared to Buffalo's 1–4 cumulative record against the same four teams.
  4. NY Jets finished ahead of Oakland based on strength of victory.
  5. 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.

Postseason

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Wild Card January 6, 2019 at Baltimore Ravens (4) W 23–17 1–0 M&T Bank Stadium Recap
Divisional January 13, 2019 at New England Patriots (2) L 28–41 1–1 Gillette Stadium Recap

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (4) Baltimore Ravens

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: (5) Los Angeles Chargers at (4) Baltimore Ravens – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 6 6 01123
Ravens 0 0 31417

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Game information

The Chargers recorded six sacks, jumped out to a 23–3 lead and halted a late Ravens rally, forcing Lamar Jackson to fumble on the final drive to earn a trip to New England.

On the Ravens' second possession of the game, Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram forced a fumble from Kenneth Dixon that was recovered by safety Adrian Phillips, giving Los Angeles the ball on the Baltimore 14-yard line. Three plays later, Michael Badgley kicked a 21-yard field goal to give Los Angeles a 3–0 lead. Then the Chargers' defense forced a punt, which Desmond King returned 42 yards to the Ravens' 42-yard line, setting up a 53-yard Badgley field goal that increased their lead to 6–0. Early in the second quarter, Phillips intercepted a pass from Jackson to give the Chargers a first down on the Ravens' 44-yard line. From there, they drove 27 yards to go up 9–0 on Badgley's third field goal. Following another Ravens punt, Los Angeles drove 53 yards in 12 plays to score on Badgley's fourth field goal on the last play of the half, giving them a 12–0 lead.

King returned the second half kickoff 72 yards to the Ravens' 35-yard line, but this time the Chargers failed to score when Badgley's field goal attempt was blocked by Za'Darius Smith. After a Ravens punt, linebacker Patrick Onwuasor forced a fumble from Chargers tight end Virgil Green that was recovered by linebacker C. J. Mosley on the Los Angeles 21-yard line. This set up Justin Tucker's 33-yard field goal, cutting the score to 12–3 with 8:34 left in the third quarter. At the end of Los Angeles' next possession, the Ravens got another scoring opportunity when Javorius Allen blocked Donnie Jones's punt, resulting in Baltimore taking over on the Chargers' 40-yard line; they only managed to gain 4 yards with their next three plays and Tucker's 50-yard field goal attempt was wide right. Los Angeles then drove 60 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 28-yard completion from Philip Rivers to Mike Williams on the Ravens' 15-yard line. On the next play, Melvin Gordon ran the ball 14 yards to the 1-yard line. The Ravens managed to keep Los Angeles out of the end zone for the next three plays, but Gordon scored with a 4th down 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the 4th quarter; Rivers completed a pass to Williams for a two-point conversion, giving the Chargers a 20–3 lead.

A sack by Ingram on the Ravens' ensuing drive forced them to punt from their 14-yard line and Sam Koch's 31-yard kick gave the Chargers good field position on the Ravens' 45-yard line. Los Angeles then drove 16 yards, including a 9-yard scramble by Rivers on 3rd-and-8, to score on Badgley's 5th field goal, from 47 yards, that gave them a 23–3 lead. Taking the ball back with 9:02 left, Baltimore drove 75 yards in eight plays, including Jackson's 29-yard completion to Willie Snead on 4th-and-11. On the next play, Jackson threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to receiver Michael Crabtree, making the score 23–10. The Chargers recovered Baltimore's ensuing onside kick attempt, but still had to punt after three plays. Baltimore went on to drive 85 yards in 12 plays, the longest a 39-yard completion from Jackson to Dixon. On the last play, Jackson threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Crabtree, narrowing their gap to 23–17 with 2:06 left. Baltimore then forced a punt with 45 seconds to go, giving them one last chance to drive for a winning touchdown, but Chargers linebacker Uchenna Nwosu forced a fumble while sacking Jackson and Ingram recovered it to give Los Angeles the victory.

Rivers completed 22-of-32 passes for 160 yards and rushed for 15 yards. Ingram finished the game with seven tackles (two for a loss of yards), two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Phillips had five tackles (three solo), an interception and a fumble recovery. King returned a kickoff for 72 yards and had four punt returns for 46 yards. Jackson completed 14-of-29 passes for 194 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception; he was also Baltimore's leading rusher with 9 carries for 54 yards. Onwausor had seven tackles (six solo), a sack and a forced fumble.

AFC Divisional Playoffs: at (2) New England Patriots

AFC Divisional Playoffs: (5) Los Angeles Chargers at (2) New England Patriots – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 0 71428
Patriots 14 21 3341

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

  • Date: January 13, 2019
  • Game time: 10:05 a.m. PST/1:05 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 26 °F (−3 °C), sunny and cold
  • Game attendance: 65,878
  • Referee: Ronald Torbert
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

New England piled up 347 yards in the first half and scored touchdowns on five of their first six possessions to defeat the Chargers, which sent the Patriots to the AFC championship game for the eighth consecutive season.[4]

The Patriots started the game by driving 83 yards in 14 plays, scoring on Sony Michel's 1-yard touchdown run. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers quickly led his team right back, completing an 18-yard pass to Mike Williams on 3rd-and-15 before tying the game on a 43-yard touchdown completion to Keenan Allen. New England then drove 67 yards in 7 plays, the longest a 28-yard completion from Tom Brady to receiver Julian Edelman. On the next play, Michel ran 14 yards to the end zone to give the Patriots a 14–7 lead with less than a minute left in the first quarter.

Los Angeles had to punt after three plays and Edelman returned it 6 yards to the Patriots' 42-yard line. Then he caught passes for gains of 11 and 17 yards as New England drove 58 yards to take a 21–7 lead on Brady's 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Phillip Dorsett. Following another Chargers punt, Brady completed a 25-yard pass to running back James White on New England's first play. A few plays later, Michel took off for a 40-yard run to the Chargers' 9-yard line, where Rex Burkhead took the ball to the end zone over the next two plays, the second a 6-yard touchdown run to put the Patriots up 28–7. The next time New England got the ball, they were forced into a three-and-out, but Chargers returner Desmond King muffed their punt and Albert McClellan recovered it for the Patriots on the Chargers' 35-yard line. Brady then started the ensuing possession with a 19-yard completion to Edelman, while Michel finished it with his third touchdown run, a 5-yard carry, that put the team up 35–7 with 1:40 left in the half. They nearly scored again after forcing a Los Angeles punt, but Dorsett was tackled on the Chargers' 30-yard line as time expired.

In the first half alone, Brady completed 23-of-29 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown, Michel had 16 carries for 105 yards and three touchdowns, White caught 10 passes for 71 yards, and Edelman caught 7 passes for 107 yards while also returning 3 punts for 31 yards.

Los Angeles had to punt on their opening drive of the second half and Brady's 25-yard completion to tight end Rob Gronkowski set up a 28-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal, increasing New England's lead to 38–7. This time the Chargers were able to respond, as Williams caught 3 passes for 40 yards as the team drove 72 yards in 10 plays to score on Melvin Gordon's 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the score to 38–14. But Los Angeles' defense still could not contain New England, as Brady's completions to Edelman and White for gains of 35 and 23 yards lead to another Gostkowski field goal, giving the Patriots a 41–14 lead with 12:27 left.

Following a few punts, Rivers completed passes to Tyrell Williams and Allen for gains of 29 and 32 yards as the team drove to score on his 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Virgil Green. Then he completed a pass to Allen for a two-point conversion, making the score 41–22 with 7:28 left. After failing to recover an onside kick, the Chargers forced a punt, but Patriots defensive back Stephon Gilmore ended their following drive with an interception. By the time Los Angeles got the ball back, only three minutes remained, which they used to drive 80 yards in 12 plays to score on Rivers' 8-yard pass to tight end Antonio Gates, making the final score 41–28 following a failed two-point conversion attempt.

Brady completed 34-of-44 passes for 343 yards and a touchdown. Edelman caught 9 passes for 131 yards and returned 5 punts for 37 yards, moving to second place all-time in playoff receptions, behind only Jerry Rice. White tied an all-time playoff record with 15 receptions for 97 yards. Michel ran 24 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns, and caught a pass for 9 yards. Rivers finished the day 25-of-51 for 331 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Tyrell Williams was his top receiver with 5 receptions for 94 yards.

With this win, Tom Brady improved his record against Rivers to 8–0 (counting regular season and playoff games).[5] It would also prove to be Rivers' last playoff game as a Charger.

Down judge Sarah Thomas became the first woman to officiate an NFL postseason game and second woman to officiate a postseason game in one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, following the NBA’s Violet Palmer.

References

  1. "2018 NFL LONDON SCHEDULE KICKS OFF AT NEW TOTTENHAM STADIUM; THREE TEAMS TO MAKE UK DEBUTS". NFL Communications. January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  2. Bradham, Matthew (October 1, 2018). "Philip Rivers Moves Into 8th Place All-Time in Career Passing Yards, Passes John Elway". Pack Insider. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  3. "Single seasons - Passing Yds >= 4000". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  4. "Boston/New England Patriots Team Encyclopedia". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. "Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots 2018 Divisional round". NFL.com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
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