2020 Los Angeles Chargers season
The 2020 season was the Los Angeles Chargers' 51st in the National Football League (NFL), their 61st overall, their fifth in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and their fourth and final season under head coach Anthony Lynn. It also marks the Chargers' first season playing their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (which the team shares with the Los Angeles Rams), after using Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson as their temporary home stadium for the previous three seasons. The team improved on its 5–11 season from the previous year. This is also the Chargers' first season since 2007 with new uniforms, which were unveiled on April 21, 2020. The uniforms are somewhat similar in design to the ones they donned from 1988 to 2006.
2020 Los Angeles Chargers season | |
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Owner | Dean Spanos |
Head coach | Anthony Lynn |
General manager | Tom Telesco |
Home field | SoFi Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 7–9 |
Division place | 3rd AFC West |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | WR Keenan Allen DE Joey Bosa |
Uniform | |
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After mutually agreeing to part ways, this is the first season since 2003 that quarterback Philip Rivers is not on the roster and the first since 2005 that Rivers would not be the starting quarterback. Rivers led the Chargers to six playoff appearances, starting every game since September 11, 2006. Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor was named starter, but following a medical mishap prior to week 2, he was replaced by rookie Justin Herbert. After a 45–0 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 13, the Chargers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive year.
At the conclusion of the 2020 season, the organization announced that Lynn was fired as head coach.[1] This season was highlighted by a string of blown 4th quarter leads. 8 of their 9 losses were by a deficit of 10 points or less.
Offseason
Signings
Position | Player | Age | 2019 team | Contract |
---|---|---|---|---|
G | Trai Turner | 26 | Carolina Panthers | |
CB | Chris Harris Jr. | 30 | Denver Broncos | |
T | Bryan Bulaga | 31 | Green Bay Packers | |
TE | Donald Parham | 22 | Dallas Renegades | |
LB | Nick Vigil | 26 | Cincinnati Bengals | |
T | Storm Norton | 25 | Los Angeles Wildcats | |
DT | Linval Joseph | 31 | Minnesota Vikings | |
WR/RS | Darius Jennings | 27 | Tennessee Titans | |
RB | Derrick Gore | 25 | Los Angeles Chargers |
Departures
Position | Player | Age | 2020 team |
---|---|---|---|
QB | Philip Rivers | 38 | Indianapolis Colts |
RB | Melvin Gordon | 27 | Denver Broncos |
LB | Nick Dzubnar | 28 | Tennessee Titans |
OT | Russell Okung | 31 | Carolina Panthers |
FB | Derek Watt | 27 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
S | Adrian Phillips | 28 | New England Patriots |
WR | Travis Benjamin | 30 | San Francisco 49ers |
LB | Jatavis Brown | 26 | Philadelphia Eagles |
G | Michael Schofield | 29 | Carolina Panthers |
Draft
Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Justin Herbert | QB | Oregon |
23 | Kenneth Murray | LB | Oklahoma | |
4 | 112 | Joshua Kelley | RB | UCLA |
5 | 151 | Joe Reed | WR | Virginia |
6 | 186 | Alohi Gilman | S | Notre Dame |
7 | 220 | K. J. Hill | WR | Ohio State |
Undrafted free agents
Despite signing a plethora of UDFAs (undrafted free agents), all were released during the initial roster cuts.
Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Asmar Bilal | LB | Notre Dame | |
Darius Bradwell | RB | Tulane | |
John Brannon | CB | Western Carolina | |
Cole Christiansen | LB | Army | |
Jeff Cotton | WR | Idaho | |
Joshua Dunlop | G | UTSA | |
Breiden Fehoko | NT | LSU | |
Romeo Finley | LB | Miami | |
Joe Gaziano | DE | Northwestern | |
Nate Gilliam | G | Wake Forest | |
Bobby Holly | FB | Louisiana Tech | |
Jesse Lemonier | DE | Liberty | |
Kevin McGill | CB | Eastern Michigan | |
Gabe Nabers | FB | Florida State | |
Jared Rice | TE | Fresno State | |
Ryan Roberts | T | Florida State | |
Dalton Schoen | WR | Kansas State | |
T.J. Smith | DT | Arkansas | |
Donte Vaughn | CB | Notre Dame |
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Final roster
Preseason
The Chargers' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
Week | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 16 | Dallas Cowboys | SoFi Stadium | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
2 | August 22 | Los Angeles Rams | SoFi Stadium | |
3 | August 27 | at Seattle Seahawks | CenturyLink Field | |
4 | September 3 | at San Francisco 49ers | Levi's Stadium |
Regular season
Schedule
The Chargers' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.[2]
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
Bengals | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Date: September 13
- Game time: 4:05 p.m. EDT/1:05 p.m. PDT
- Game weather: Partly cloudy, 83 °F (28 °C)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Clay Martin
- TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 2: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chiefs | 0 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 23 |
Chargers | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: September 20
- Game time: 1:25 p.m. PDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 75 °F (24 °C)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Carl Cheffers
- TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Justin Herbert made an unexpected start after Taylor suffered an injury before the game.
Week 3: vs. Carolina Panthers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Panthers | 6 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 21 |
Chargers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: September 27
- Game time: 1:05 p.m. PDT
- Game weather: Hazy, 77 °F (25 °C)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Tony Corrente
- TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and Jay Feely
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 4: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
Buccaneers | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 38 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
- Date: October 4
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/10:00 a.m. PDT
- Game weather: Cloudy, 75 °F (24 °C)
- Game attendance: 6,383
- Referee: Brad Allen
- TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle, Charles Davis and Evan Washburn
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 5: at New Orleans Saints
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 6 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
Saints | 3 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 30 |
at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Date: October 12
- Game time: 7:15 p.m. CDT/5:15 p.m. PDT
- Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
- Game attendance: 749
- Referee: Clay Martin
- TV announcers (ESPN): Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick and Lisa Salters
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jaguars | 0 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 29 |
Chargers | 9 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 39 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: October 25
- Game time: 1:25 p.m. PDT
- Game weather: Cloudy, 68 °F (20 °C)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Clete Blakeman
- TV announcers (CBS): Andrew Catalon, James Lofton and Sherree Burruss
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 8: at Denver Broncos
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 0 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 30 |
Broncos | 3 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 31 |
Game information | ||
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Week 9: vs. Las Vegas Raiders
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Raiders | 7 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 31 |
Chargers | 0 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 26 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: November 8
- Game time: 1:05 p.m. PST
- Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Brad Rogers
- TV announcers (Fox): Joe Davis, Mark Schlereth and Lindsay Czarniak
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 10: at Miami Dolphins
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Dolphins | 14 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 29 |
at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
- Date: November 15
- Game time: 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST
- Game weather: Partly cloudy, 83 °F (28 °C)
- Game attendance: 12,751
- Referee: Jerome Boger
- TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and AJ Ross
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 11: vs. New York Jets
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jets | 6 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 28 |
Chargers | 7 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: November 22
- Game time: 1:05 p.m. PST
- Game weather: Clear, 69 °F (21 °C)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Craig Wrolstad
- TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and Jay Feely
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 12: at Buffalo Bills
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 6 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 17 |
Bills | 7 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
Game information | ||
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Week 13: vs. New England Patriots
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Patriots | 7 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 45 |
Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Game information | ||
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With the shutout loss against New England, Los Angeles fell to 3–9 and was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
Week 14: vs. Atlanta Falcons
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Falcons | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Chargers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Game information | ||
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Week 15: at Las Vegas Raiders
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 30 |
Raiders | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
at Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
- Date: December 17
- Game time: 5:20 p.m. PST
- Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: John Hussey
- TV announcers (Fox/NFLN/Prime Video): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews and Kristina Pink
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Broncos | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 16 |
Chargers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: December 27
- Game time: 1:05 p.m. PST
- Game weather: Partly cloudy, 61 °F (16 °C)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Shawn Hochuli
- TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta and Amanda Balionis
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 17: at Kansas City Chiefs
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
Chiefs | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
- Date: January 3, 2021
- Game time: 3:25 p.m. CST/1:25 p.m. PST
- Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
- Game attendance: 13,240
- Referee: Clete Blakeman
- TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Kugler, Brock Huard and Laura Okmin
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Division
AFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(1) Kansas City Chiefs | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 4–2 | 10–2 | 473 | 362 | L1 |
Las Vegas Raiders | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 434 | 478 | W1 |
Los Angeles Chargers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 384 | 426 | W4 |
Denver Broncos | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 323 | 446 | L3 |
Conference
# | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division leaders | |||||||||||
1 | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 4–2 | 10–2 | .465 | .464 | L1 |
2 | Buffalo Bills | East | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 6–0 | 10–2 | .512 | .471 | W6 |
3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 9–3 | .475 | .448 | L1 |
4[lower-alpha 1] | Tennessee Titans | South | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .475 | .398 | W1 |
Wild Cards | |||||||||||
5[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] | Baltimore Ravens | North | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .494 | .401 | W5 |
6[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] | Cleveland Browns | North | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .451 | .406 | W1 |
7[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 4] | Indianapolis Colts | South | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .443 | .384 | W1 |
Did not qualify for the postseason | |||||||||||
8 | Miami Dolphins | East | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .467 | .347 | L1 |
9 | Las Vegas Raiders | West | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .539 | .477 | W1 |
10[lower-alpha 5] | New England Patriots | East | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .527 | .429 | W1 |
11[lower-alpha 5] | Los Angeles Chargers | West | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .482 | .344 | W4 |
12 | Denver Broncos | West | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 4–8 | .566 | .388 | L3 |
13 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 4 | 11 | 1 | .281 | 1–5 | 4–8 | .529 | .438 | L1 |
14 | Houston Texans | South | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 3–9 | .541 | .219 | L5 |
15 | New York Jets | East | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | .594 | .656 | L1 |
16 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 1–5 | 1–11 | .549 | .688 | L15 |
Tiebreakers[lower-alpha 6] | |||||||||||
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Notes
- The following four games were moved to accommodate the postponement of the Week 5 game Denver-New England game due to several New England players testing positive for COVID-19: Week 6 vs. New York Jets moved to Week 11, Week 7 at Miami moved to Week 10, Week 8 vs Jacksonville moved to Week 7, and Week 11 at Denver moved to Week 8. The Chargers' bye week moved from Week 10 to Week 6.
References
- Shelley Smith (2021-01-04). "Los Angeles Chargers fire Anthony Lynn after four seasons as coach". espn.com. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.