Life without Keenan Allen didn’t get off to a desirable start for the San Diego Chargers.
The Chargers gave up 15 points to the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter and lost 22-19 on Monday night. With a 2-7 record, the team is in need of a miracle to make the playoffs.
But the bigger story was how the Chargers responded in their first game without their leading receiver, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering a lacerated kidney. It’s tough to replace 67 catches for 725 yards in eight games, but that’s the best way to sum up San Diego’s season.
Let’s take a look at some of the top Chargers and their fantasy outlook going forward.
Philip Rivers
For someone who lost his top target for the year, it was business as usual for Philip Rivers on Monday night.
He completed nearly 62 percent of his passes and didn’t turn the ball over while throwing for 280 yards and a touchdown.
One can only wonder what those numbers would’ve looked like if Allen had been around for Rivers to throw the ball to, but putting up those numbers against a decent Chicago Bears defense is impressive.
Rivers is on pace to break Peyton Manning‘s single-season record for passing yards in a season (5,477). Allen’s absence puts a damper on those hopes, but Rivers continues to play great football despite picking up only two wins this year.
His touchdown-to-interception ratio is almost 3-1 (19 touchdowns and seven interceptions), and Rivers hasn’t thrown an interception in three of his last four games. That should be reason enough to keep him as a QB1 option in fantasy. Losing Allen is going to hurt, but Rivers has played with less talent before at the wide receiver position.
Rivers will be fine from a fantasy perspective. It may not result in much in the win column for San Diego, but that’ll be fine with fantasy owners if he remains consistent.
Antonio Gates
With Allen out, it’s about to become the Antonio Gates Show once again in San Diego.
He needs to be play better than he did Monday night, though.
Gates had six catches for 69 yards, which looks great in the box score, but being held without a touchdown is not good in the fantasy realm. Gates is going to get more looks as Rivers’ No. 1 target, but he needs to score more touchdowns going forward.
That’s why this week was an aberration. Rivers can’t rely on Danny Woodhead to be the only Chargers player to catch touchdowns.
Gates will be fine as a tight end option if he’s on your roster. It’s been a down year for tight ends in the fantasy world unless your name is Rob Gronkowski, Tyler Eifert or Gary Barnidge. This could be the time for Gates to get more touches and find himself in the end zone once or twice a game.
Stevie Johnson
Stevie Johnson played well against the Bears.
Johnson has always been a talented receiver, ever since he was making big plays for the Buffalo Bills. Along the way, though, he hasn’t looked like the guy who had three straight 1,000-yard seasons for the Bills.
With the Chargers losing Allen, this is the perfect opportunity for Johnson to become that receiver once again.
Johnson hasn’t caught a touchdown since Week 2, but with defenses set to focus on Gates more often over the middle, Johnson should see more opportunities to make plays for Rivers. Johnson is a reliable flex option if you’re in dire need of someone to fill that role.
He’s not WR1 or WR2 material, but if he plays well in the next few weeks, that could well change.
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Football
NFL
AFC West
San Diego Chargers
Philip Rivers
Antonio Gates
