Keenan Allen finally scored his first touchdown of the season last night. It's not surprising he hadn't scored yet when you see where Philip Rivers has been throwing the ball down inside the 10-yard line.
Entering last night's game, Rivers had thrown 23 passes from within 10 yards of the goal line through the first seven weeks of the season. Only 1 had gone to Allen. Difficult to catch touchdowns if you're not getting looks when the ball is in that area of the field.
But that one target came in the previous game, so that makes two chances in the last two games. Maybe things are starting to change, and Allen will continue to get some looks down there the rest of the way.
Antonio Gates, in contrast, had been targeted on a team-high 7 of those throws, helping explain why (after last night) he now has 9 TDs on the season.
Targets for Chargers' receivers inside the 10-yard line through the first seven weeks of the season are presented below.
| TARGETS INSIDE THE 10, SAN DIEGO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Down | Dist | Receiver | Res |
| 1 | 2 | 6 | M.Floyd | TD |
| 2 | 3 | 8 | A.Gates | TD |
| 2 | 3 | 8 | A.Gates | TD |
| 2 | 2 | 8 | D.Woodhead | inc |
| 2 | 2 | 5 | D.Woodhead | 7 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | D.Brown | inc |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | E.Royal | TD |
| 3 | 3 | 5 | E.Royal | TD |
| 3 | 2 | 5 | E.Royal | inc |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | L.Green | inc |
| 3 | 1 | 6 | L.Green | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | A.Gates | inc |
| 5 | 3 | 4 | A.Gates | TD |
| 5 | 2 | 9 | B.Oliver | TD |
| 6 | 3 | 1 | A.Gates | TD |
| 6 | 1 | 8 | A.Gates | inc |
| 6 | 1 | 9 | A.Gates | inc |
| 6 | 2 | 7 | B.Oliver | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | 9 | B.Oliver | -3 |
| 6 | 3 | 5 | M.Floyd | TD |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | J.Phillips | TD |
| 7 | 3 | 6 | K.Allen | inc |
| 7 | 2 | 6 | M.Floyd | inc |
--Andy Richardson