Two games into the season, the Chargers are the only NFL offense with more run plays than pass plays.

And that’s fine with quarterback Philip Rivers.

“I think every week we have the ability to throw it 50 times or run it 50 times, really, depending on how the game goes,” Rivers said Wednesday. “It is nice, though, when we can be as balanced as we’ve been the last two weeks.”

Melvin Gordon is giving Chargers opponents a rougher go of it this year.


The sophomore running back has rushed for 4.2 yards per carry and three touchdowns.

A year ago, the numbers for Gordon were 3.5 and zero.

Rivers praised the team’s blockers — including rookie tight end Hunter Henry — for the “creases” they created for Gordon and Danny Woodhead.

Along with finding those creases, Gordon earned praise from Rivers for his ability to grind out yardage in heavy traffic.


“There’s times when they’re going to be kind of an ugly three- or four-yard run,” the quarterback said, “and he’s really embraced those runs, and said, ‘This is part of it.’

“There’s 10 or 12 (run plays per game) that aren’t going to be pretty, but I’m gonna get four and fall forward. Those add up, and those take their toll on a defense.”

The Chargers are gaining 4.6 yards per rush.

In 2014 and 2015, they ranked near the NFL’s bottom with averages of 3.4 and 3.5, respectively.


Rivers said he’s especially excited about how a potent ground game can open up the passing game.

In his experience, opponents are more apt to keep two safeties back so long as the defensive front can limit the ground gain.

When handoffs start producing four or more yards, he said, defenses tend to commit an extra defender to the run box.

“They go, ‘Hey, we’d be better somebody down there to stop the run,’ “ he said.


When Rivers sees the safeties advance, he’s more inclined to fake a handoff and throw downfield.

Speedy wide receivers Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams, he said, become more dangerous as deep threats when the running game commands extra attention.