Under the direction of Foster, RB Austin Ekeler totaled 44 regular-season scrimmage touchdowns (20 in 2021, 18 in 2022 and six in 2023), ranking first in the NFL over that span and led the league in his first two seasons. Ekeler added a pair of rushing touchdowns in the 2022 AFC Wild Card Playoff at Jacksonville, making him the seventh player in NFL history to register back-to-back seasons with 20 touchdowns (regular and postseason combined). Ekeler’s 228 receptions for 1,805 yards with 14 touchdowns led NFL running backs in catches and receiving yardage over the three-season span under Foster’s tutelage, while tying for first in touchdown grabs.
In 2023, despite missing three games with an ankle injury, Ekeler led the Chargers in rushing for the fourth consecutive season with 628 yards and ran for a club-best five touchdowns, adding 51 receptions for 436 yards (8.5 avg.) and one touchdown in the passing game.
Ekeler set single-season career-highs in 2022 with 1,637 total yards from scrimmage, 13 rushing touchdowns, 915 rushing yards and 107 receptions. His 107 catches led all running backs, tied for fifth-most in the NFL overall, and were tied for the second-most by a running back in a single season in NFL history. Ekeler added five touchdown catches, giving him 29 for his career, tying for the most by a running back with a single team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). He also led the NFL in 2022 with 843 yards after catch. In the Week Five win at Cleveland, Ekeler set a single-game career high with 173 rushing yards, the fourth-best rushing performance in the NFL in 2022. Foster helped coach a Chargers offense that ranked third in net passing yards per game (269.6 avg.) and ninth in total net yards per game (359.3 avg.) in the NFL. Ekeler was one of an NFL-record six players on the team to top 500 receiving yards and three touchdown grabs in the same season. The Los Angeles offense paced the NFL with 112 third down conversions and ranked second with 2,542 yards after catch.
In 2021, Ekeler turned in a career year under Foster’s tutelage, as he tied for an NFL high with 20 scrimmage touchdowns, becoming the fourth Charger ever to have a share of the league lead in touchdowns for a season. His 20 scrimmage scores tied for the second-most by any Charger in a single season. The season also marked Ekeler’s second with eight receiving touchdowns (2019), joining Pro Football Hall of Fame RB Marshall Faulk (2000 and 2001 seasons) as…
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