Is the Chargers Special Teams Unit Something to be Concerned About?

The Los Angeles Chargers had their toughest preseason outing in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 41-17 in the second week of the preseason. While the Chargers played backups for most of the game, their special teams performance may be a cause for concern.

There were other blunders throughout the preseason as well, raising the question of whether or not this unit is up to the standard Los Angeles will have for itself this season. But that game against San Francisco still brings lingering questions today.

Even with backups playing in that particular Niners matchup, the Chargers still had JK Scott as the starting punter and Cameron Dicker as the starting kicker. However, each of them made a mistake that did not necessarily cost the Chargers the game, but if they do not fix these mistakes, there could be some issues when the regular season starts.

Starting with Scott, he had a solid overall performance as he punted eight times for a total of 381 yards and averaged 47.6 yards per punt, with his longest punt being 62 yards. Additionally, Scott was able to pin four punts inside the 20.

The one play that Scott would have loved to have back was his punt in the second quarter that was returned for an 83-yard touchdown by the 49ers' punt returner Jacob Cowing. On the play, the Chargers' punt coverage missed a few tackles, but Scott did put the ball in the middle of the field. Scott also did have an opportunity to make the tackle close to the sideline, but he was unable to.

While Scott did perform well for most of the game, the margin for error in the NFL is very slim, so when the regular season does start, he has to make sure that he puts the ball in a good position for the coverage, otherwise, the punt coverage could be a major issue for the Chargers throughout the season.

Dicker, on the other hand, did not have a ton of action, with his two biggest plays being a field goal and an extra point. Dicker was able to make the field goal in the second quarter from 21 yards, but he did miss an extra point in the third quarter.

Even though the miss did not necessarily cost the Chargers in this case, Dicker does need to make sure he is consistent throughout the regular season. Last season, Dicker was very reliable, but in Week 16 against the Houston Texans, he did have some struggles as he went 1/2 on field goals and 1/2 on extra points.

Generally, Dicker is very reliable, so he should be good to go for the regular season, but he does need to make sure he is fully focused, otherwise, there could be questions regarding his consistency throughout the 2026 season.

Besides the punt returned for a touchdown and the missed extra point, the Chargers were pretty solid on special teams, so this may have just been one bad game from the unit.

Looking ahead to next week, the Chargers will take on the Los Angeles Rams, who should have solid special teams, so it will be interesting to see if the Chargers can respond or if the special teams unit is something to be concerned about.

This one particular game highlighted some reason for questioning.