The Chargers’ special teams didn’t exactly breeze through the preseason, and the roughest snapshot came in that 41-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.
Los Angeles had backups on the field for much of the game, but the special teams group still had its regulars in key spots. JK Scott handled punting duties, and Cameron Dicker was the kicker. Both made plays, and both also had moments the Chargers would rather not carry into the regular season.
Scott’s overall line was strong enough on paper. He punted eight times for 381 yards, averaged 47.6 yards per kick and launched his longest one 62 yards.
He also pinned four punts inside the 20. The problem was the one punt that got away: a second-quarter kick that Jacob Cowing returned 83 yards for a touchdown.
The coverage unit missed a few tackles on the play, and Scott had a chance to make the stop near the sideline but couldn’t finish it. That’s the kind of mistake that can flip a game fast, even if the punter otherwise did his job.
Dicker had a much quieter night, with his main work coming on a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter and an extra point in the third. He made the field goal, but he missed the PAT.
It didn’t change the outcome in this one, but it’s the sort of slip the Chargers want cleaned up before the games start counting. Dicker was reliable last season, though he did have a rough patch in Week 16 against the Houston Texans, when he went 1/2 on field goals and 1/2 on extra points.
Outside of those two hiccups, the Chargers were mostly fine in the third phase. That’s why this looks more like one bad preseason game than a full-blown alarm bell. Still, the margin for error is tiny in the NFL, and special teams can go from steady to shaky in a hurry.
The next test comes against the Los Angeles Rams, a team that should bring solid special teams play of its own. That gives the Chargers a chance to show whether the 49ers game was just a stumble or the start of a real concern.
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