Melvin Gordon is in hot water. The rookie has had an inconsistent start to the season as he continues to try and reach the hype placed upon him coming out of Wisconsin. The San Diego Chargers have maintained the faith in him while starting him every game so far. However, two fumbles against the Green Bay Packers left Gordon on the bench and his status for Week 7 against the Oakland Raiders up in the air.
"Today was solely on me. It was my fault. I can't blame anybody but myself," Gordon said, via U-T San Diego.
Gordon has had two fumbles all season, so the drops against the Packers were surprising, but they are another knock on his NFL resume. Gordon ended the day with a quiet 29 yards off seven carries. Meanwhile Branden Oliver stepped in for seven carries for 23 yards while Danny Woodhead continues to be the versatile threat with eight yards on the ground and another 63 through the air. While it is unlikely that the Chargers start Woodhead or Oliver over Gordon against the Oakland Raiders, another fumble could put him in head coach Mike McCoy's dog house for a while.
The Chargers could have used better production on the ground as Philip Rivers was left to put together a career day. The quarterback tossed for 503 yards, but only managed two touchdowns. Kennan Allen had 157 yards through the air, but never found the end zone. That is not exactly what the Chargers were aiming for with Rivers putting up a big game.
One reason the Chargers were unable to seal the win could have been the injury to Allen who was driving the offense, but then fell on his hip and was forced to watch the end of the game from the sidelines. According to the U-T San Diego, the injury is not expected to linger, but it did force the receiver out of the game and into the locker room.
"It kept pulling me," Allen said, via the U-T. "I couldn't really run like I wanted to...(The matchup) was kind of fun. We knew they were going to play man, so that's when I lick my chops to see if they could cover me. I seemed to be getting open pretty good today."
A repeat performance could be in store against the weakened Raiders' secondary unit. Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates represent a solid receiving corps for Rivers to work with and he might be able to take even more advantage of it in Week 7. McCoy noted that running the ball and staying balanced is a must still which means Gordon needs to put the fumbles behind him quickly.
