Ryan Mathews was the first Chargers player off the field, his uniform spotless. He was one of the first to leave the locker room, as there was no need for a shower.
The Chargers’ first-round draft pick did not play a single snap in Sunday’s 28-13 loss to the Raiders, once again a victim of the scoreboard and his own inexperience.
The Chargers were down 14-0 after the first quarter and ran just five times after that.
“It’s disappointing,” Norv Turner said. “I would like Ryan to play. We were throwing the ball. The hardest part is the (pass) protection when you’re in the nickel situation. Obviously, (Mike) Tolbert knows the protections … We don’t want to play a game this way. We dug ourselves a hole and we were trying to get out of it.”
Pass protection is a huge deal for young backs and it often hurts their production in their rookie season. When we have seen Mathews this year, he's show flashes that he's got potential to be a future stud. But after this week, he's value takes a huge hit because you never know when the Chargers are going to fall behind.
