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
OwnerDean Spanos
Head coachAnthony Lynn
General managerTom Telesco
Home fieldSoFi Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersWR Keenan Allen
DE Joey Bosa
Uniform

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
GTrai Turner26Carolina Panthers
CBChris Harris Jr.30Denver Broncos
TBryan Bulaga31 Green Bay Packers
TEDonald Parham22 Dallas Renegades
LBNick Vigil26 Cincinnati Bengals
TStorm Norton25 Los Angeles Wildcats
DTLinval Joseph31 Minnesota Vikings
WR/RSDarius Jennings27 Tennessee Titans
RBDerrick Gore25 Los Angeles Chargers

Departures
Position Player Age 2020 team
QBPhilip Rivers38Indianapolis Colts
RBMelvin Gordon27Denver Broncos
LBNick Dzubnar28Tennessee Titans
OTRussell Okung31Carolina Panthers
FBDerek Watt27Pittsburgh Steelers
SAdrian Phillips28New England Patriots
WRTravis Benjamin30San Francisco 49ers
LBJatavis Brown26Philadelphia Eagles
GMichael Schofield29Carolina Panthers

Draft
Main article: 2020 NFL Draft
2020 Los Angeles Chargers Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
16 Justin HerbertQBOregon
23 Kenneth MurrayLBOklahoma
4112 Joshua KelleyRBUCLA
5151 Joe ReedWRVirginia
6186 Alohi GilmanSNotre Dame
7220 K. J. HillWROhio State

Undrafted free agents

Despite signing a plethora of UDFAs (undrafted free agents), all were released during the initial roster cuts.

2020 Los Angeles Chargers Undrafted Free Agents
Player Position College Notes
Asmar BilalLBNotre Dame
Darius BradwellRBTulane
John BrannonCBWestern Carolina
Cole ChristiansenLBArmy
Jeff CottonWRIdaho
Joshua DunlopGUTSA
Breiden FehokoNTLSU
Romeo FinleyLBMiami
Joe GazianoDENorthwestern
Nate GilliamGWake Forest
Bobby HollyFBLouisiana Tech
Jesse LemonierDELiberty
Kevin McGillCBEastern Michigan
Gabe NabersFBFlorida State
Jared RiceTEFresno State
Ryan RobertsTFlorida State
Dalton SchoenWRKansas State
T.J. SmithDTArkansas
Donte VaughnCBNotre Dame

Staff
2020 Los Angeles Chargers staff
Front office
  • Chairman/Owner/president – Dean Spanos
  • Vice chairman – Michael Spanos
  • Executive vice president/COO/CFO – Jeanne M. Bonk
  • 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

  • Special teams coordinator – Keith Burns
  • Senior coaching assistant – Chris Caminiti
  • Senior coaching assistant – Rip Scherer

Strength and conditioning

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

Final roster
2020 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, 11 practice squad (+1 exempt)

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]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 13 at Cincinnati Bengals W 16–13 1–0 Paul Brown Stadium Recap
2 September 20 Kansas City Chiefs L 20–23 (OT) 1–1 SoFi Stadium Recap
3 September 27 Carolina Panthers L 16–21 1–2 SoFi Stadium Recap
4 October 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 31–38 1–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap
5 October 12 at New Orleans Saints L 27–30 (OT) 1–4 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
6 Bye[upper-alpha 1]
7[upper-alpha 1] October 25 Jacksonville Jaguars W 39–29 2–4 SoFi Stadium Recap
8[upper-alpha 1] November 1 at Denver Broncos L 30–31 2–5 Empower Field at Mile High Recap
9 November 8 Las Vegas Raiders L 26–31 2–6 SoFi Stadium Recap
10[upper-alpha 1] November 15 at Miami Dolphins L 21–29 2–7 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
11[upper-alpha 1] November 22 New York Jets W 34–28 3–7 SoFi Stadium Recap
12 November 29 at Buffalo Bills L 17–27 3–8 Bills Stadium Recap
13 December 6 New England Patriots L 0–45 3–9 SoFi Stadium Recap
14 December 13 Atlanta Falcons W 20–17 4–9 SoFi Stadium Recap
15 December 17 at Las Vegas Raiders W 30–27 (OT) 5–9 Allegiant Stadium Recap
16 December 27 Denver Broncos W 19–16 6–9 SoFi Stadium Recap
17 January 3 at Kansas City Chiefs W 38–21 7–9 Arrowhead Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week One: Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 6 01016
Bengals 7 0 6013

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Game information

Week 2: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week Two: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34OTTotal
Chiefs 0 6 311323
Chargers 7 7 33020

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Justin Herbert made an unexpected start after Taylor suffered an injury before the game.

Week 3: vs. Carolina Panthers
Week Three: Carolina Panthers at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Panthers 6 12 0321
Chargers 0 7 3616

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Week 4: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week Four: Los Angeles Chargers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 14 10 7031
Buccaneers 7 7 141038

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

Week 5: at New Orleans Saints
Week Five: Los Angeles Chargers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
1 2 34OTTotal
Chargers 6 14 07027
Saints 3 7 314330

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week Seven: Jacksonville Jaguars at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Jaguars 0 14 15029
Chargers 9 7 20339

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

Week 8: at Denver Broncos
Week Eight: Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 14 10630
Broncos 3 0 72131

at Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: November 1
  • Game time: 2:05 p.m. MST/1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 5,231
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and Jay Feely
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 9: vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Week Nine: Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 7 14331
Chargers 0 17 3626

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Week 10: at Miami Dolphins
Week Ten: Los Angeles Chargers at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 7 7721
Dolphins 14 3 3929

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

Week 11: vs. New York Jets
Week Eleven: New York Jets at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Jets 6 0 13928
Chargers 7 17 7334

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

Week 12: at Buffalo Bills
Week Twelve: Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 6 0 8317
Bills 7 10 7327

at Bills Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: November 29
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 48 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Alex Kemp
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon and Jay Feely
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 13: vs. New England Patriots
Week Thirteen: New England Patriots at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Patriots 7 21 71045
Chargers 0 0 000

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

  • Date: December 6
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear, 70 °F (21 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Amanda Balionis
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

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
Week Fourteen: Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 10 0017
Chargers 7 3 7320

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

  • Date: December 13
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Davis, Brock Huard and Jenny Taft
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 15: at Las Vegas Raiders
Week Fifteen: Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders – Game summary
1 2 34OTTotal
Chargers 7 10 70630
Raiders 3 7 77327

at Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada

Game information

Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos
Week Sixteen: Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 0 31316
Chargers 3 10 0619

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Week 17: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week Seventeen: Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 17 7738
Chiefs 7 7 0721

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

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]
  1. Tennessee finished ahead of Indianapolis based on division record.
  2. Baltimore finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory. Division tiebreaker used to eliminate Cleveland (see below).
  3. Baltimore finished ahead of Cleveland based on head-to-head sweep.
  4. Cleveland finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory.
  5. New England finished ahead of the LA Chargers based on head-to-head victory.
  6. 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.

Notes
  1. 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
  1. Shelley Smith (2021-01-04). "Los Angeles Chargers fire Anthony Lynn after four seasons as coach". espn.com. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  2. Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
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