Bolts From The Blue
The Chargers may need big games from Morgan Fox and Poona Ford if they want to keep Joe Burrow from throwing comfortably in the pocket.
The Chargers are at home once again in Week 11 with their first of two back-to-back games in primetime. The Bengals are here for Sunday night before the Ravens to town for Monday Night Football in Week 12.
Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow are going to headline this matchup of that pits two quarterbacks taken in the top 10 of the 2020 draft. However, if you’re coming in and expected shootout between these two, you might be sadly disappointed. Burrow will likely sling it around due to the inept Bengals run game, but Herbert (if all things go well) won’t likely be asked to do the same if the rushing attack is working well enough to keep the Cincy offense from seeing the field.
I hope you’re all ready for what should be a heck of a game.
Without further ado, here are the three storylines I’ll be following closely when these two teams take the field Sunday night.
In his first year after signing with the Chargers this offseason, Fulton started the first six games of the season before an injury limited him to coming off the bench in Week Eight against the Saints. Since then, he’s missed the last two contests with the same injury.
Earlier this week as the Bolts began prep for this week’s primetime matchup against the Bengals, Fulton told reporters that he plans to suit up and return from his short absence. If that is the case, I’ll be curious to see how defensive coordinator Jesse Minter divvys up the snaps at cornerback after his exceptional a pair of rookies, Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart, have been playing very well the past two weeks.
Including the Saints game where Fulton did not see much time on the field, the Chargers allowed 35 points combined over the past three games. The defense is still playing at an elite level without Fulton, but the first-year Charger is still the highest-graded cornerback on the team via Pro Football Focus. Against the Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, the defense will need all the bodies it can use to slow down Cincy’s incredible duo. But again, the vibes are high and what the Bolts have been doing has been working. However, until the wheels fall off, it’s “In Jesse Minter We Trust”, not matter what he decides to do this week with his cornerback group.
My guess, for what it’s worth, is Fulton returns to his normal snap count while Still keeps the starting job opposite him, but don’t count out Hart seeing his fair share of snaps at the same time.
When analyzing the Bengals offensive line, you’ll notice...
