Melvin Gordon is coming home.

The man who was born in Racine, grew up in Kenosha and starred in Madison was flown Friday from San Diego, bound on the Chargers’ team plane to where it all began. Dozens of family members will cheer him Sunday in Green Bay. Former teammates and coaches also will be at Lambeau Field , doing the same.

This is the game Gordon returns to Wisconsin.

But it is no more about him than any other week.

“We're trying to win,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “We're not worried about Melvin's breakout game. We're trying to win.”

Gordon has four rushes of 20 or more yards this year, tied for fourth-most among NFL running backs. Those gains of 20, 23 26 and 27 yards — specifically, the ability he’s shown on each of them — is why the Chargers drafted the former Wisconsin running back in the first round. Still, the rookie is working to become the impact player he envisions.

Those long runs went for a combined 96 yards, or 36.5 percent of his season total.

He has averaged 2.6 yards on his other 67 carries. Thirty-six of his 71 runs have resulted in a gain of 2 yards or fewer, including 10 for a loss.

Certainly, there are cuts Gordon would like back, but those numbers demand context to capture some extenuating circumstances that surround him. There have been instances when the 22-year-old has achieved a first down on a short down-and-instance, such as when he recorded 1-yard and 3-yard gain on two second-and-1 situations against the Vikings . Those plays won’t help the rushing average but can be constituted as successful.

Gordon has a penchant for making defenders miss.

In some runs, he does well to even reach the line of scrimmage.

He also is transitioning from a system at Wisconsin that saw him run power football 24.5 times per game in 2014 behind an offensive line full of road graders. In San Diego, there naturally is more balance; such is the NFL and game flow this season with the Chargers (2-3) often trailing. He primarily runs out of the shotgun and occasionally the pistol formation, which they view as an evolution to the traditional “quarterback behind center” alignment.

Finally, the last layer of context is the white elephant in the room.

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There are five elephants: The Chargers offensive line has been a three-ring circus of players switching positions mid-game, bouncing from here to there in response to injury.

“We understand the type of runner he is — that’s why we took him where we did,” coach Mike McCoy said. “It’s about 11 guys doing their job better. He’ll tell you: He’s trying to improve every week, too, as a player. There’s 10 other guys that affect what he does. It’s very similar to a quarterback. … It’s everybody just, ‘Hey, let’s block a little better.’

“We see the physical part of him. That’s the one thing you really see that’s impressive, a physical style of running and his effort. There are some ugly two-yard (runs) that he’s made, but it’s impressive when you watch it on film the way he’s got them. Obviously, when he gets in space, you see what he can do. When he gets to the second level on his own, he’s not going down on first contact very often. So, there’s a lot of good things that he’s doing. We’ve just got to be more consistent as an entire offense.”

Gordon is still looking for his first NFL touchdown and 100-yard game.

Whether it comes back home remains to be seen. But he is confident his production will come in due time.

“Not as good as I wanted them to be, but I’m getting better,” Gordon said of his first five weeks. “You learn as you go. I’m still learning as a player, as an individual, as a teammate. But I’m going to be where I need to be, I know that, at the end of the day. ... It's on me."