Brandon Staley, Keenan Allen Meet Following Critical Tweet of Fourth-Down Decision

Brandon Staley explains the conversation he had with Keenan Allen regarding his critical tweet of the fourth down call.

Author:
Nicholas Cothrel
Publish date:
Oct 10, 2022 7:49 PM EDT

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Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers came away with their third win of the season Sunday in Cleveland when the defeated the Browns 30-28 at FirstEnergy Stadium. But the Chargers' second win in two weeks didn't come without a flair for the dramatic.

It's well documented that Brandon Staley is among the most aggressive decision-makers in the NFL when determining whether or not his team will go for it on fourth down.

With the Chargers leading 30-28, facing a fourth-and-2 with 1:14 left at their own 46-yard line, Staley opted to keep his offense on the field for the fourth down try.

"We believe in our process, we believe in our players on both sides," Staley said, explaining the decision. "We were coming out here on the road to win this game, not kick it and then go hope to win. I believed our defense would get a stop if we didn't make it because I knew that we could cover them."

Ultimately, the Chargers fell short on the fourth down attempt as Justin Herbert's pass was broken up by Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. to force a turnover on downs.

The Browns moved the ball 10 yards on offense before attempting a 54-yard field goal that went wide right, resulting in a Chargers victory.

While things wound up working into the Chargers favor, wide receiver Keenan Allen, who didn't make the trip to Cleveland due to a hamstring injury, took to his personal Twitter account to voice his thoughts on Staley's fourth down decision.

Allen clearly wasn't fond of the call and went public with his opinion in what was already a hot topic of discussion.

On Monday, Staley met with reporters via Zoom, and said that he and Allen have spoken about the matter.

"He and I, since I've become the head coach, have become extremely close and there's no one who I have more respect for than Keenan Allen," Staley said. "What makes him special is his competitiveness and also how much he cares about our team."

"So we met this morning and anyone that's been a part of competition knows that when you're not a part of it, you can feel some type of way, and Keenan's heart is with us. And to me, I'm understanding of where he was at in that moment because he's not with his team. They're in the fire. That's a money down that he's used to being out there which makes it a lot better for us. It's just part of sports. We're going to become closer because of it. We already became closer this morning because of it."

Allen, the longest tenured Charger on the team, is one of the most influential voices on the roster. His heat of the moment tweet appears to be more of a knee-jerk reaction than it is an accurate representation of the team's buy-in to Staley's process.

Quarterback Justin Herbert, running back Austin Ekeler and defensive tackle Sebastian Jospeh-Day have all backed Staley's fourth down decision over the last 24 hours.

"This is no surprise," Ekeler said of the fourth down call. "It's still Brandon Staley we're talking about here. . . . I like the call. He believes in us. I love that."

Allen's initial tweet has been deleted from his verified account.

Allen has missed the last four games since suffering a hamstring injury in the season opener. Ahead of the Week 4 game, he suffered a setback which led to him being a non-participant in each practice day last week.

Staley said Monday that Allen is trending positive and is considered day-to-day.

"Got a good report this morning," Staley said of Allen's health. "I mean what I said last week, that it's a day-to-day hamstring, not an injured reserve hamstring."

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