Bolts From The Blue
The Chargers dominated on defense yet again and got touchdowns in the air and on the ground from Justin Herbert in Week 10 to help beat the Titans 27-17.
Justin Herbert threw one touchdown, ran in another, and the Chargers defense sacked Will Levis seven times to help close out a 27-17 victory over the Titans on Sunday afternoon.
The Bolts now face back-to-back home games in primetime against the Bengals (4-6) and Ravens (7-3) before traveling to Atlanta to face the Falcons.
Let’s go ahead and see where the team’s latest win has them positioned in this week’s power rankings.
They can run it, throw it and play defense. Oh, they also have a great coach. This team will be dangerous come playoff time. - Pete Prisco
As good as Justin Herbert’s day was, there was another score to Will Dissly that nearly happened. I’m not sure how Herbert feels about this, but I wonder if he would trade those outlier Burrow-Jackson duel-under-the-lights games for what he has now; a more conservative approach that allows for some panache but keeps him mostly protected. He has gone from a top-third sacked player in the NFL to a middle-tier sacked player. That has to make a difference. - Conor Orr
Justin Herbert’s numbers aren’t flashy, but he might be your favorite quarterback evaluator’s favorite quarterback. Herbert threw 18 passes Sunday but rolled up a 123.1 passer rating and is now sixth in that category among qualified passes (103.2). After toiling in relative obscurity for the first four years of his career, Herbert has a chance to get into the national conversation this year if the Chargers keep winning. - Josh Kendall
It’s time to start taking the Los Angeles Chargers seriously.
Yes, Sunday’s win came against a bad Tennessee Titans team. But the Chargers were once again rock-solid defensively. The Bolts are surrendering a league-low 13.1 points per game, and per ESPN the Chargers are the fourth team since 1990 and the first since the 2013 Kansas City Chiefs to allow 20 or fewer points in each of its first nine games.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters after the victory that the win was a true team effort.
“A complete, total team win. When you look at the offense, the drives that we put together ... tough, gritty type of conversions on third down and fourth down,” Harbaugh said. “They’re playing lights out on the defensive side. And then special teams, another big return by our punt return unit.”
The Chargers are playing excellent defense and complementary offense. The AFC West might not be a realistic goal, but the Bolts have already exceeded last year’s win total, and a wild-card berth is absolutely on the table.
Analyst’s Take
*Jim Harbaugh was never likely to...
