Ron went by the book against the Chargers...and ignored analytics.

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesWashington was outplayed in several (most?) aspects of the game yesterday by the Los Angeles Chargers, but despite that, it still had a legitimate chance to win the game going into the middle of the 4th quarter. Driving into Chargers’ territory, Washington’s offense began to stall.

On Los Angeles’ 40-yard line, with a 4th and 7, and down by 4 points, Rivera was faced with a critical decision: Punt the ball away and try to count on a defense that would eventually allow the Chargers to convert 14 of its 19 third down conversions for the game, or go for it on 4th down in an attempt to continue driving for the touchdown his team would need to win the game.

Ron…