Bolts From The Blue
The Chargers showed the NFL they’re ready for the moment by completing their entire divisional sweep of the AFC West with a 23-20 victory over the Broncos. Numerous players had situations where they rose the occasion, but no one did it better than quarterback Justin Herbert who willed his team to victory despite being abused all game long.
That gutsy performance has obviously earned him a spot on this week’s Winners column, but who else ended up joining him? Who made the Losers section despite the win?
Let’s go ahead and find out!
QB Justin Herbert
What a performance. I mean, what a stellar, ballsy, and gritty performance from Herbert in a game where he was getting his a** handed to him all day long.
Despite being knocked around like a rag doll for most of the day, Herbert still threw for 300 yards and the game-tying touchdown to Keenan Allen with a Broncos rusher nearly draped over him. Oh, and that was also after he avoided two would-be sackers to even break out of the pocket in the first place.
You can only say so much about how good of a game Herbert had when everyone around him needed it the most.
At this point, it’s only right that he’s squarely in the early MVP conversation.
WR Keenan Allen
The Chargers have played three games since re-signing with his former team during training camp and Allen has found the end zone in each one.
The Slayer has been as consistent as they come. In three games this year, Allen has posted stat lines of:
He’s on pace for over 100 receptions, 1,100 yards, and 17 touchdowns. That’s not a bad line for a guy getting further away from 30 by the day.
S Derwin James
James had one of the best games of his career against the Colts by stuffing the stat line via his Dime linebacker/slot defender role that earned him a Second-Team All-Pro nod a year ago.
By the end of Sunday’s win, James had racked up 12 total tackles (next closest Chargers player had five), a whopping four tackles for loss, and one of the team’s two sacks on the day. James was an immense presence in defending the run and the screen game and he may have played the largest role in shutting the down the Broncos offensive in the final quarter on Sunday.
RB Omarion Hampton
The rookie had his best game as a professional against the Broncos and the Chargers needed just about every yard of it. Following Najee Harris’ achilles injury, Hampton was given a large majority of the snaps in the backfield throughout the remainder of the game and he turned it into 129 yards of offense (70 rushing, 59 receiving) while scoring his first professional rushing touchdown.
Hampton had big plays down the stretch, whether it was gaining eight yards on a third-and-short or taking a flat pass for 22 yards on...
