Chargers News: NFL Insider Emphasizes Mike Williams' Importance To LA

The Chargers lost again, and their season has reached a crucial point.

It was another tough night for the Chargers. 

Los Angeles' offense fell flat against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, losing 20-17 and falling to 2-3 on the season. 

Coming into 2023, the Chargers were supposed to have an explosive offense under first-year offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, handsomely paid quarterback Justin Herbert, and weapons including receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. 

Allen is still in the fold this season -- and has put up career numbers on occasion -- but Williams was ruled out for the year after suffering a torn ACL in a Week 3 win over the Vikings. 

And man, do the Bolts miss their big target. 

The Chargers' inability to convert in the red zone came up big in their loss to Dallas on Monday, and NFL.com writer Nick Shook talked about just how the absence of Williams is affecting the Bolts' offense. 

The lack of a big target means any physical mismatch will come from tight ends, allowing the Cowboys to direct their attention to Gerald Everett and Donald Parham, blanket Keenan Allen and dare anyone else to beat them. It's not just in the red zone, either: This passing game relies too heavily on Allen to move the ball through the air, making the task simpler for opposing defenses and undercutting the Chargers' potential. Everything seemed to be difficult for L.A. on Monday night, even when it significantly outgained the Cowboys in the third quarter and had only a field goal to show for it.

^{via Nick Shook of NFL.com}

And now the team is at a crossroads. 

The Bolts are a game under .500 and set to face the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday. Following that are games against the downtrodden Bears and seemingly improving but limited Jets, and then a set of difficult games against the Lions, a road matchup against the Packers, and a trip back home to SoFi Stadium to face the Ravens. 

All that is to say, the Chargers need to rack up the wins quickly, and with an offense seemingly at a standstill -- and questionable playcalling along with it -- that could be very tough over the next month or so. 

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