For the first time in 14 years there was another starter under center for the Chargers, as Tyrod Taylor was the one calling the shots this past Sunday against the Bengals.
Los Angeles pulled away with the victory in a low scoring affair, marking Taylor’s first win as the Bolts’ starting quarterback.
But despite starting the 2020 season win column, it doesn’t necessarily exemplify how Taylor played.
Expected to have more of a polarizing look due to the significant scheme changes, the Chargers offense with Taylor at quarterback wasn’t necessarily dynamic against the Cincinnati defense.
Behind Taylor, Los Angeles moved the ball for spurts but scored only one touchdown and struggled to sustain drives. They finished 6-of-16 on third-down conversions and failed twice on fourth down.
As a passer, Taylor completed 16-of-30 passes for 208 yards.
Taylor’s completions were almost all to wide-open receivers, with the majority of them coming within 15 yards. His longest competition was for 37 yards when he linked up with wide receiver Mike Williams near the right sideline.
I can’t believe I’m typing this sentence, but man that’s an absolute dime by Tyrod Taylor pic.twitter.com/fLxXDnv5vG
— Dan Harmon (@DwhFtw) September 14, 2020
Taylor had his woes throwing the football, as he overthrew or completely missed his targets when he had the opportunity to link up with them. Along with that, he would lock onto his first or preferred read, leading to forced throws and staring down receivers with a late trigger.
One thing I have to point out is Tyrod Taylor threw the ball away far more in this game than he did in BUF.
I imagine part of this is an out-of-sync offense. But I also kinda think Lynn is in his ear about doing anything but taking a big loss on a sack or throwing an INT pic.twitter.com/ZNPMLlanb3
— Tyler Schoon (@tylerjschoon) September 14, 2020
With his legs, Taylor was nearly nonexistent. He ran the ball six times for only seven carries. Coach Anthony Lynn credited the Bengals for being able to contain his quarterback.
His mobility, though, allowed him to evade pressure on a few occasions. That would have not been the case with Rivers, who was not known for being able to use his legs to his advantage.
Another positive from Taylor’s performance is that he took care of the football. The Chargers made the point that they wanted to win the turnover battle this season, which they did.
Taylor’s outing has some fans concerned moving forward, especially since he connected with star receiver Keenan Allen only four times for 38 yards.
However, Sunday was the first time any of these players played in this offense during a live football game. It will take a little bit for everything to all come together.
Taylor’s a completely different quarterback, stylistically, from Rivers and that’s something his skill players will have to adjust to.
Taylor may not put up performances like Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson or Deshaun Watson, but I believe we will see improvement with his play translating to more offensive success as the season progresses.