The Los Angeles Chargers got off to a hot start with their first win last Thursday. Taking some lessons from last week, here’s what they need to do to keep up the streak.
Continue Creating Turnovers With The Defense
The Chargers’ defense was on fire last week. In the first quarter, cornerback Nikko Reed jumped the route of Lions wide receiver Tom Kennedy to come up with the ball, then ran it all the way along the sideline to the 6-yard line, making it first-and-goal for the Chargers.
Right before the end of the first quarter, safety Tony Jefferson got a leaping interception on a pass in the end zone.
And besides Jefferson’s leaping interception, the best turnover came in the final two minutes of the game when cornerback Myles Purchase ripped the ball out of the hands of Lions wide receiver Dominic Lovett and ran it to the 35-yard line to shut down the Lions’ final play of the game.
The score was already out of reach for Detroit, but that last turnover was the nail in the coffin. If the defense can continue to dominate, things should be looking up for the Chargers, no matter what Saints quarterback they’re up against.
Los Angeles Chargers Special Teams
Right out of the gate during the kickoff, Lions linebacker Grant Stuard fumbled the ball after having it punched out by safety Kendall Williamson. Williamson recovered it, so it was the Chargers’ ball.
Daniel Popper of The Athletic reported that outside linebacker Caleb Murphy initially “wrapped up Stuard,” which enabled Williamson to get the ball loose.
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Lions wide receiver Jakobie Keeney-James also fumbled the punt return as the ball slipped right through his fingers, and wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick recovered it at the five-yard line.
You can already see some of that Ficken magic manifesting on the special teams side, so hopefully this unit has some other things up their sleeves for Sunday.
Have Solid Quarterback Play
Quarterback Trey Lance played for the majority of the game and was surprisingly good. He didn’t turn the ball over, only ran when he had to, had some slightly off-target throws, but overall, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), had a 65% completion percentage with 120 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.
He looked very different from the Dallas Cowboys version we saw of him this time last year, and perhaps that’s credit to more experience in the league, but also credit to the Harbaugh system. If he plays this next game, perhaps he can show a similarly measured but competitive performance.
Keep Running The Ball
As solid as Lance was, the Chargers also had some victories on the ground. Though the running backs didn’t get a ton of yardage, they certainly showed out.
Running back Kimani Vidal made it into the end zone twice, including right after a play in the first quarter where he managed to get a first-and-goal, after being absolutely rocked with a hit from Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.
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Running back Nyheim Miller-Hines also survived a body slam in the third quarter and had a few good runs.
For a team that wanted to really ground and pound last season and didn’t always succeed, this first outing bodes well for this next matchup.