To the victor goes the spoils, the saying goes. In this case, the 'spoils' is a 1-0 record for the Los Angeles Chargers following their 20-16 win over the Washington Football Team in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season.
"It always feels great to walk away with a win," Chargers' quarterback Justin Herbert told media after Sunday's win at FedEx Field. "Especially on the road, and that is what good teams have to do."
Meanwhile, WFT suffered a double whammy, losing not only their home opener but perhaps starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to an injury as well. Oh, and the loss comes in a season where it'll play an extra road game in the NFL's new 17-game schedule.
In losing the game on Sunday Washington's vaunted pass rush got to Herbert for just two sacks (one from Montez Sweat and Jonathan Allen each) while forcing a fumble and an interception. What was terrible was the 74-percent third-down conversion surrendered by WFT. The Chargers converted 14 of their 19 third downs while Washington's offense converted just three of 10.
"I was just talking to (Chargers' head coach Brandon) coach Staley about our third-down efficiency," Herbert said. "And 14 of 19 is unheard of."
The truth hurts. Last year's NFL leader in third-down efficiency was the Green Bay Packers at 51 percent. The Chargers easily eclipsed that lofty standard.
Veteran running back Austin Ekeler was also asked about the astronomical efficiency rate, to which he said, " ... it shows that we can move the ball and the fact that we can convert those, hey, that's what it's going to come down to."
Next week, WFT gets another shot at defending its home field. This time, it'll be the New York Giants, coming in off their own Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos.
In that game, quarterback Daniel Jones' offense converted 50 percent of their its downs. The Giants will surely be looking to expose the reasons Jack Del Rio's defense floundered on the down that matters most.
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