Defiant Chargers coach Brandon Staley: Fourth-down mindset won't change 'one bit'

In a recent interview with NBC Sports’ Peter King, Chargers coach Brandon Staley said his aggressive fourth-down play-calling will not change. Pundits criticized Staley when his fourth-down calls failed last season in Week 15 against the Chiefs and in Week 18 against the Raiders. Overall, though, Los Angeles was one of the league's best in converting fourth downs last season.

“I know the mindset I tried to create within our team,” Staley told King. “I know that’s not gonna change. Not one bit.” 

The Chargers had the third-most conversion attempts on fourth down in 2021 (34) and the most converted attempts (22). They finished tied for the fourth-highest conversion percentage on fourth down (64.7 percent), according to StatMuse. 

The Los Angeles Times reported the team scored 86 points on drives extended by the 22 conversions and allowed just 22 points on drives resulting from six of the 12 failed attempts.  

Staley’s failure to convert last season might be the plays he called. He called a running play with Austin Ekeler on the Chargers’ own 18-yard line in the third quarter of the season’s final game. On fourth down with one yard to go, Ekeler was swarmed by the Raiders' defense. Las Vegas subsequently kicked a field goal, and the Chargers lost the game by three points and a playoff spot. 

Of the 34 total fourth-down attempts last season, the Chargers passed 23 times and ran 11. Justin Herbert completed 15-of-22 passes, with 14 resulting in conversions. Punter Ty Long also threw an incomplete pass on a fake punt in Week 4 against the Raiders. 

On 11 fourth-down runs, Ekeler got the ball five times and converted three of his chances. Backup RB Joshua Kelley went 1-for-2, and Herbert rushed four times and converted every time. 

Against the Raiders, the Chargers would have been better served by having the 6-foot-6, 236-pound Herbert running the ball on fourth down instead of the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Ekeler trying to push his way past defensive end Maxx Crosby, linebacker Denzel Perryman and the rest of the defense.

While facing the Chiefs in Week 15, the Chargers were successful on two of five fourth-down chances. Both successful plays were runs. One play they missed came on a fourth-and-two Herbert pass intended for tight end Jared Cook. 

Herbert threw two incomplete passes on fourth down earlier in the game. A run, perhaps a designed run with one of the most dynamic young quarterbacks in the game, might have thrown off the defense and secured a victory and an elusive playoff spot for the Bolts.