San Diego Chargers: Can Danny Woodhead be the hero?
Sporting a 4-11 record and coming off of an overtime loss to the rival Oakland Raiders in primetime, the San Diego Chargers need a heroic performance from a couple of players.
With Orlando Franklin out, King Dunlap doubtful, and Stevie Johnson and Javontee Herndon questionable, the San Diego Chargers continue to run out of key offensive players. Philip Rivers has done his best to carry this team to victory, but he needs a wide receiver, tight end, or running back to step up and be a hero.
Related Story: Who is the best player from your state?
Running back Danny Woodhead scored four touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins in one of the craziest performances of the season, memorably crushing fantasy football dreams or bringing them to fruition. For the Chargers, Woodhead once again gave fans something to cheer about in a season that has been largely bereft of excitement ever since budding superstar receiver Keenan Allen went down for the season.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Last week, Woodhead didn’t earn many touches until late in the game, but he would finish with over 100 yards from scrimmage, hauling in over 50 receiving yards for the eighth time in the 2015 season.
Tomorrow, Woodhead and the Chargers will have to take on the NFL’s best defense, and even without Brandon Marshall, the Broncos defense will still be a formidable challenge for the Chargers standout pass-catching back. After all, few inside linebackers are better in coverage than the always underrated Danny Trevathan, and he’s a big reason why the Broncos are the best team in the NFL in Football Outsider’s DVOA against opposing running backs in coverage.
It’s a tough matchup, even for an impact pass-catching back like Woodhead who has over 70 catches and 700 receiving yards this season, but it will be critical for him to shine if the Chargers are to have a chance on Sunday. The Broncos are one of the NFL’s elite teams, and they are coming off of a nice win over the Cincinnati Bengals. They held the explosive Giovani Bernard, who has 1,154 yards from scrimmage this season, to just 29 yards on four carries and completely neutralized both Jeremy Hill and Bernard on the ground.
As we saw last week in the Chargers overtime loss to Oakland, Woodhead is the Chargers best bet on the ground at this juncture, and he’s also one of the team’s most reliable options in the passing game. With Johnson’s and Herndon’s statuses unknown and tight end Ladarius Green out for the season, San Diego’s top options are Dontrelle Inman, Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd, and Woodhead.
I’ve seen worse quartets fielded, but Rivers needs his steadiest options, Woodhead and Gates, to shine tomorrow.
The Broncos are ridiculously good at shutting down wide receivers, as only superstars like Antonio Brown and A.J. Green are able to have any sort of success against them. Perhaps Inman and Floyd can change that this week, and Johnson and Herndon could end up playing this week anyway.
But with so many unknowns out there, Woodhead needs to be the guy to step up. The last time these two teams played, the Broncos won 17-3, thoroughly shutting down the Chargers offense. Woodhead had just three receptions for 24 yards (his fourth-lowest total of the season) with ten yards on three carries.
Although he hasn’t been much of a rusher this season with just 3.5 yards per carry, Woodhead will have to carry the momentum from his 11-carry, 55-yard performance against the Raiders into tomorrow’s away game against the Broncos.
More nfl spin zone: Where do the Chargers rank in our Power Rankings?
With injuries piling up in the backfield, at wide receiver, and on the offensive line against an insanely good Broncos pass rush, Woodhead’s importance to the team has increased considerably. It’s Week 17 and the Chargers aren’t going anywhere, but rivalry wins like this one are huge for organizations.
A morale boost is always nice, and the Chargers would love to close out the year with a win over an elite rival just a week after blowing a game against their most hated rivals, who, by the way, are trending in an upwards direction with a nucleus of star talent on offense.