Chargers face Titans with another chance to bury the past
The Chargers have reached the heart of their 2024 schedule, or the point where everything went haywire last season and they lost three consecutive games and eight of their final nine, and they fired their coach and general manager and counted the days until they could replace them and start anew.
The final three months of last season were dreary days.
The final three months of this season seem like they might be far sunnier.
The current season feels nothing like the past one.
A victory Sunday over the Tennessee Titans would give the Chargers a 6-3 record, one more win than all of last season, and it would probably cement their status as a playoff contender with eight games to play. It wouldn’t ensure a playoff berth, but it would likely eliminate some level of doubt.
The Chargers haven’t played flawless football this season, but there is something different about them under Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz, the men who replaced Brandon Staley as coach and Tom Telesco as general manager. They still have miles to run if they hope to catch the NFL-leading Kansas City Chiefs.
Sunday marks another opportunity to show how far removed the Chargers of 2024 are from the Chargers of 2023. For example, their defense this season ranks as the NFL’s stingiest in points given up through the first nine weeks of the season. They have surrendered only 12.6 points per game.
The Chargers have given up 20 points or more only once.
“Man, I don’t know,” edge rusher Khalil Mack said when asked if this was among the best of all the defenses he’s played with during his 11 seasons in the NFL, including stops with the then-Oakland Raiders and the Chicago Bears. “I’d probably be able to tell you at the end of the year.
“Right now, what is it? Week 9? Week 10? Just from the standpoint of you have full seasons with teams in the past. Just the feeling of what I’ve seen so far, we’re on our way to being dominant in a different way than I’ve been on, on any other team. So, just taking all the right steps and not focusing on the big picture.
“Just focusing on the Titans.”
The Chargers’ defense was 24th in points given up per game last season (23.4).
This season, the Chargers’ offense appears to be a work in progress, but that work seems to be paying off since their bye week, after a 17-10 loss to the unbeaten Chiefs in Week 4. Quarterback Justin Herbert is healthy again after he suffered a debilitating ankle injury in Week 2 and then aggravated it in Week 3.
The Chargers’ passing game ranks 21st in the NFL with an average of 200.5 yards per game. Herbert has formed connections with rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who leads the team with 440 yards receiving on 35 receptions, and also with Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer.
The ground game has been hit or miss with J.K. Dobbins, who began the season with back-to-back 100-yard games and has had two others of 85 yards or more. Dobbins rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in last Sunday’s victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Overall, the rushing game ranks 20th with an average of 114.5 yards per game.
Herbert has stressed the need to convert on third downs and execute in the red zone, two areas of concern for all football teams within the known football universe. He also praised the Chargers’ wide receiver corps for holding an impromptu meeting following a loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7.
McConkey had a career-high 111 yards receiving in Week 8 against the New Orleans Saints, a 26-8 victory at SoFi Stadium, and Johnston had a career-high 118 yards in Week 9 against the Browns, a 27-10 victory at Cleveland. Herbert topped 250 yards passing in each game.
“I think they’re always trending in the right direction,” Herbert said. “I don’t think any meeting like that was out of the ordinary. That’s what you do in the NFL. You want to be at your best, and they’ve certainly done that. They’ve done a great job all year, whether it’s been at camp or OTAs or during the season.”
So, where do the Chargers go from here? With nine games to play, starting with Sunday’s home date with the Titans, it would seem they’re in a far, far different place than they were last season. It’s easier to envision their winning streak reaching three in a row Sunday and harder to imagine a repeat of their 2023 belly flop.
CHARGERS (5-3) vs. TITANS (2-6)
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV/Radio: FOX (Ch. 11); 98.7 FM; 105.5 FM/94.3 FM (Spanish)