SAN DIEGO -- Feed him.

Regardless of how successful the San Diego Chargers are at running the football, Melvin Gordon will continue to see carries moving forward, according to offensive coordinator Frank Reich.

“So many times in the running game it’s just getting to enough runs where your guy can break loose for two or three,” Reich said. “And we’ve seen that Melvin has that incredible ability. He’s had a number of 20-plus runs. So we’ve just got to keep feeding him the ball.”

Offensive coordinator Frank Reich knows the Chargers need to keep giving Melvin Gordon the ball, no matter how successful the team's run game is. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

The Chargers totaled just 81 rushing yards in a road loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week.

But the more important number for Reich was 26 -- the number of runs San Diego had against the Ravens.

Reich said the fact that the Chargers stuck with the run even though they did not have much success helped create balance on offense, making it easier to convert third downs. The Chargers had 12 third-down conversions of third-and-6 or less and converted seven of them against the Ravens.

“It’s simple math in the NFL,” Reich said. “When it’s third down, the shorter you have to go the higher the percentage your conversion rate is. So it really is simple math.

“So when you can run the ball effectively, usually what you end up with is third-and-medium or third-and-short.”

Gordon finished with 54 yards on 18 carries against the Ravens. But he also had three negative runs. The Chargers would like for Gordon to eliminate the negative plays and create some explosive runs Monday night against the Chicago Bears.

“You get a guy like Melvin the ball enough times, you’re hoping that one of those runs is going to pop out of there,” Reich said. “I’ve studied a lot of things in the run game over the years, and you see that’s the case.”