The Los Angeles Chargers lost in Week 1 to the Arizona Cardinals, and following the loss, head coach Jim Harbaugh gave some insight as to why there was a rotation at left guard.
The Los Angeles Chargers fell to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 by a final score of 26-14, which was one of the more shocking results of the opening weekend, so the Chargers must find a way to respond.
After the loss during the postgame presser, head coach Jim Harbaugh gave some insight as to why the Chargers had a rotation at left guard.
"We thought that was the the best thing for us to do to win cause we felt that that that was the that was the best thing for us because of like keeping them fresh or you know just how good good those two players are and yeah have the rotation that was that was our that was our decision," Harbaugh said.
As Harbaugh alluded to, he and the Chargers felt that the choice to rotate both Trey Pipkins III and Kayode Awosika gave Los Angeles the best opportunity to win.
Looking back on it, with how the offense played, it is worth wondering if the rotation of Pipkins and Awosika put the Chargers in a bad spot when it came to having an offensive rhythm, and especially when quarterback Justin Herbert was trying to call the protections.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the performances of Pipkins and Awosika to see which of them had a better performance.
Starting with Awosika, according to PFF played 35 snaps and recorded an overall grade of 73.6 (No. 8 among 59 OGs), a pass blocking grade of 85.1 (No. 4 among 59 OGs), and a run-blocking grade of 66.6 (No. 17 among OGs).
Additionally, Awosika did not allow any pressures, hits, or sacks, and did not record a single penalty which was clearly a solid performance and could give the advantage heading into Week 2.
On the other hand, Pipkins played 20 snaps, and per Pro Football Focus, he posted an overall grade of 47.5 (Not enough snaps to grade), a pass-blocking grade of 52.9 (Not enough snaps to grade), and a run-blocking grade of 47.2 (Not enough snaps to grade).
In terms of the other pass-blocking metrics, Pipkins allowed one sack, one quarterback pressure, and zero hits other than the sack. With that said, Pipkins did struggle a bit more than Awosika, so it will be very interesting to see how the Chargers handle the left guard rotation moving forward.
After looking at the performances of Awosika and Pipkins, it does seem like Awosika does have the edge to play full time at left guard, and if he performs well in practice, it is quite possible the Chargers make that decision ahead of the Week 2 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
So, heading into Week 2, it will be very intriguing to watch how Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel handle the left guard position and whether or not they decide on one of Awosika or Pipkins, or if there is still a rotation as they take on the Raiders.
