His route was perfect. Isolated alone on the outside, early in the fourth quarter against Tennessee, Keenan Allen broke toward the sideline and shook off his man. In the corner of the Wembley Stadium end zone, Allen was open. And he knew it.

So when Philip Rivers threw a dart to Mike Williams, which fell incomplete, Allen lashed out in anger. He thrashed his arms around. He kicked a pylon. He screamed at Rivers on the sideline, before he was restrained by teammates.

“I want the ball,” Allen said when asked about the spat with his quarterback. “He wants me to get the ball, so he’s telling me why I didn’t get it, and I’m mad.”

The meltdown, on its surface, seemed to suggest some sort of unrest from Allen in a Chargers offense that has spread the ball around for much of the season. But both Rivers and his top wideout continue to flatly reject that narrative. As far as either is concerned, little is different from last season, when Allen went to his first Pro Bowl.

“I’ve been getting asked every week about Keenan’s production,” Rivers said. “I think he’s great. He’s on track to have similar to what he had last year, and at this point last year, he was kind of right in this mix. He’s obviously a huge part of what we’re doing.”

In spite of concerns over Allen’s involvement, Rivers’ point stands. Through seven weeks last season, Allen actually had fewer receptions (36) and yards (487) last season than he has through seven games in 2018 (41 catches, 506 yards). Both this season and last, Allen had just one touchdown at this juncture.

It was two weeks after the Chargers’ Week 9 bye in 2017 that Allen’s production increased. . Over the final seven games last season, Allen scored five touchdowns and averaged 113.9 yards per game. His catch percentage over that stretch (73.4 percent) is almost identical to his current rate (73.2).

Which is to say, there’s reason to believe that Allen’s role in the offense could surge over the season’s final stretch. He’s still viewed as Rivers’ top option in the passing game, and with Tyrell Williams and Mike Williams both vertically stretching out defenses, Allen has ideal circumstances with which to work his magic on underneath routes.

But given the shifting dynamic of the Chargers’ hyper-balanced offense, there’s also some cause to wonder if Allen might fall short of last season’s output, purely for opportunity reasons. A year ago, Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler combined for 85 receptions. This season, the pair of backs is on pace for 112 combined catches, as they’ve become a more central part of the short passing game.

With Rivers averaging 3.5 fewer pass attempts per game, there also aren’t as many balls to go around. That’s especially true in the red zone, where Gordon is seeing 27 percent of Rivers’ targets, up significantly from 14 percent last season.

Sharing the ball, Rivers says, has never been a problem in any Chargers offense he’s helmed over the past 13 seasons. Allen’s frustration in London, however brief, doesn’t change that.

“Having that competitiveness and that desire, to want (the ball) – as a quarterback, you want them to all feel that,” Rivers said. “We all understand and manage from an emotional standpoint. That’s never been a problem here, and it won’t be now.”

GORDON LOOKS GOOD

Melvin Gordon was expected to be a limited participant this week, but in the small portion of practice viewed by the media on Wednesday, the Chargers running back ran with resistance during one drill, before cutting at full speed during another.

After Gordon was suddenly shelved for the Chargers’ London victory, due to a hamstring issue that arose after the team’s transatlantic flight to London two weeks ago, Gordon’s participation was encouraging in regards to his status for Sunday.

Lynn did warn on Monday that hamstring injuries could linger, especially in running backs. But he also noted optimistically that “the week off really helped Melvin.”

NOTES

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Chargers take on Chiefs hoping to give themselves a better chance to win When asked if rookie linebacker Kyzir White would return this weekend, Lynn responded, “I doubt it, to be honest with you.”

White has missed the last four games, after undergoing a “minor knee procedure” that Lynn, at the time, said would not require a long recovery.

After cutting rookie kicker Michael Badgley and handing kicking duties back to Caleb Sturgis, the Chargers added Badgley to their practice squad Wednesday, according to the team’s web site.

“He’s going to be a kicker in this league for a long time, I believe,” Lynn said of Badgley.