Bolts From The Blue
The Chargers beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon 27-13 behind another strong defensive effort led by another group of young players. If this type of play continues into the regular season, Jesse Minter will most certainly not be with the Chargers much longer.
But for now, we’re enjoying his brilliance while it’s still in Los Angeles.
Here are three winners and two losers from Sunday’s preseason victory!
Winners
CB Eric Rogers
After fellow UDFA rookies Nikko Reed and Myles Purchase popped off in the Hall of Fame Game with an interception apiece, Eric Rogers went out against the Saints with something to prove. In arguably the best defensive performance by anyone on Sunday, Rogers picked off two different Saints quarterbacks and returned one for a 43-yard touchdown.
Unfortunately the night did not end well for Rogers who wound up injured on a kickoff and had to be helped off the field by trainers. In the locker room after the game, Rogers was seen using crutches while receiving his well-deserved game ball from head coach Jim Harbaugh.
EDGE Caleb Murphy
Murphy has been on a hot streak through the first two preseason games for the Chargers.
He began the Hall of Fame Game by assisting on the tackle that forced a turnover on the opening kickoff against the Lions and then followed up on Sunday with two sacks and nearly had a third one against the Saints. Being a menace in two of the three phases of football is a quick way to earn yourself a spot on the final 53-man roster and Murphy may have just sealed that outcome with two preseason games left this month.
RB Raheim Sanders
After an injury kept him out of training camp early, including sidelining him during the Hall of Fame Game, Sanders enjoyed a very strong first impression with his 42-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Saints on Sunday.
As the game went on, Sanders and Haskins were the two main backs for the Chargers after Kimani Vidal started the outing. Haskins also ran strong, but it was Sanders who found the end zone when he baited the New Orleans safeties up the middle before bouncing to his right and beating everyone to the pylon.
I’m fully expecting the Chargers to keep four true running backs on the roster, in addition to Scott Matlock if they continue that experiment for another full season. Haskins will make the team due to his special teams contributions which means it’s up to Sanders or Vidal to win that final spot.
Right now, I think those two are pretty close to each other with two preseason games to go.
Losers
RB Kimani Vidal
Vidal got the start but did not end up playing all that much throughout the night. With a two-score lead held by the Chargers for most of the day, this was a good opportunity for the young backs to get more playing time. However, Vidal only earned six carries (tied third on the...
