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Anthony Lynn saw firsthand the hard work Tyrell Williams put in from his office window at the team’s headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. “He’s developing into a complete receiver,” Lynn said. “And he works at it. His work ethic is about as good as anyone on this team.”  With Melvin Gordon a late scratch due to a hamstring injury, the Los Angeles Chargers once again leaned on the big-play ability of Williams to escape with 20-19 win over the Tennessee Titans at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday -- the team’s fourth straight win as they head into the bye week.
The Chargers forced an incomplete pass by Marcus Mariota with the Titans attempting to win the game with a two-point conversion instead of playing for overtime, and Keenan Allen recovered the onside kick for the Bolts to hold onto the victory. The Chargers are now 5-2. While Allen remains the team’s No. 1 receiver, Williams has emerged over the past two weeks as a nice complementary target and clear No. 2 for the Chargers. However, Williams’ takeover appears to have created some frustration for Allen. The Cal product kicked a pylon and vented on the sideline when Rivers did not target him in the end zone in the second half. Rivers went over to calm Allen down afterward. Allen has not scored a touchdown since a Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Allen went through a similar dry spell last season, not getting into the end zone until Week 11 after scoring a touchdown in the season opener against the Denver Broncos. Over the past two games, Williams has six receptions for 219 receiving yards and three touchdowns, averaging a healthy 36.5 yards per reception. An undrafted rookie out of Western Oregon who was signed by the Chargers in 2015, Williams has experience carrying the passing game for the Chargers. When Allen missed the 2016 season due to a torn ACL, Williams led the Chargers in receiving that year, finishing with 69 receptions for 1,059 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. However, when Allen came back healthy in 2017, Williams returned to his role as complementary pass-catcher, finishing with 43 receptions for 728 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns last season.
Drops and winning contested catches were issues for Williams in 2017, something he worked diligently to correct during the offseason. “I'm still working on it every day, being one of the things I really wanted to get better at,” Williams said. “I’ll continue to work on that as it’s nice to see it come to fruition in the game.” The Chargers drafted Mike Williams in the first round last year. Tyrell Williams is in a contract year and looking to put his best foot forward this season. Speaking of Mike Williams, he also showed up in a big way, catching a 55-yard corner route for his fourth touchdown of the season. With Gordon out, the Chargers struggled to run the football, finishing with just 48 rushing yards. Philip Rivers did a good job of managing the offense and creating big plays down the field, finishing 19 of 26 for 306 passing yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions.
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