Watching the Los Angeles Chargers this season has been brutal, especially now after a heartbreaking loss to the Denver Broncos. According to Playoffstatus, this team currently have about a 1% chance to make the playoffs. Truthfully, that’s probably overselling the odds, as quarterback Justin Herbert could be done for the season. That said, for us fans, is there any point of watching the Chargers anymore?
Why Fans Should Still Watch the Chargers
Khalil Mack Sack Records
As it stands, the Chargers’ best defender all season long has been Khalil Mack. He has played himself into the defensive player of the year discussion and has been dominant since he put on the powder blues, and he’s doing it without Joey Bosa. That said, his 15 sacks are currently tied for the 3rd-most all-time in a single season by any Charger player.
The leaders for the bolts are currently a tie between Leslie O’Neal’s 1992 campaign with 15 games played, and Shawne Merriman’s 2006 campaign with only 12 games played. They both had 17 sacks on the year, and Mack stands at 15 with 13 games played. With four more games to play, Mack only needs 2.5 more sacks to break the record set by O’Neal in 1992 and tied by Merriman in 2006. Though those two defenders had more per-game dominance, the record still lies in the road for Mack.
Moving onto the NFL single-season record, that record is tied by both TJ Watt’s 2021 season and Michael Strahan’s 2001 campaign. They recorded 22.5 sacks in their respective seasons, and Khalil Mack has a chance to get there if he goes back to his dominant stretch of games before this week’s loss. In four games, Mack would have an average of two sacks a game to break the record with 23 total sacks. It may be a long shot, but it is on the Horizon for the former Defensive Player of the Year.
Side Note: Mack only needs 0.5 sacks to reach 100 in his career.
Keenan Allen’s Career Best Season
The Chargers may have just lost their franchise quarterback due to injury, but at least their number-one wideout makes these games worth watching. Keenan Allen is currently leading the league with 108 receptions, just breaking the franchise record that was set by Austin Ekeler just a year ago. He’s still an effective chain mover, but he has shown some good explosion with plays beyond the sticks.
Allen also ranks second in the league in receiving yards with 1,243, already coming in close to his best year in 2017 where he recorded 1,393 receiving yards. The former Cal Golden Bear has four more games to record 151 receiving yards to break his career-high yardage mark.
The highlight of this anemic offense all year has been the one whom we call “Slayer” and his route-running prowess and ability to be a reliable receiver for Justin Herbert, and now most likely Easton Stick.
Watching The Chargers Rookies
The last reason to keep watching this underperforming Chargers team is to see how much more the rookies develop. Though the day one selection of Quentin Johnston has not been the best thus far, he has shown enough flashes to give us reasonable hope for the next years. This week Johnston recorded a career-long 57-yard catch on veteran corner, Fabian Moreau. With that catch alone, it showed that he can separate as a deep threat, and become that piece the Chargers were looking for.
As for the day two rookies, we already know that Tuli Tuipulotu is amazing, but seeing more starting snaps for the USC product could only yield a stronger development curve for the 21-year-old. Moving on, Daiyan Henley has yet to get any meaningful snaps on defense, but has been a strong special teamer, and will likely see an uptick in production in the last few weeks of the year to show the team what he has.
For the day three rookies, Derius Davis has been incredible on punt returns and has shown some ability as an offensive gadget piece. Fifth-round rookie Jordan McFadden has seen snaps at Jumbo Fullback but had a bad showing this week against the Broncos and will likely return to the bench as a depth offensive lineman. Scott Matlock has been a rotational piece for this Chargers defensive line, and though he has not graded out well, he has shown some promise in his limited time on the field.
Furthermore, the last selection of the Chargers draft is current practice squad QB, Max Duggan. Duggan will likely make his way to the active roster as the injury to Justin Herbert could be season-ending. If Stick does not perform well, look to see the seventh-round rookie play some meaningful offensive snaps.
Main Photo: Gary A. Vasquez – USA Today Sports
