Jim Harbaugh may be working a few of his first-year magic once more.Â
The Los Angeles Chargers improved to 2-0 on Sunday. They demolished the Carolina Panthers 26-3, per week after getting a decisive 22-10 residence win over the Las Vegas Raiders. It is the primary time the Chargers have opened a season 2-0 since 2012.
Past the new begin, the Chargers look vastly improved from final season. They’re ninth within the league in factors per play (0.403) by means of the primary two weeks, a stat that they ranked twenty third in final season. Defensively, they’ve allowed the fewest factors (6.5 per sport) and second-fewest yards (227.5 per sport) to open the season. They ranked twenty fourth and twenty eighth, respectively, in these classes final yr.Â
It is solely been two video games and the Chargers have not confronted the stiffest competitors but. Even so, Colin Cowherd is all-in on what Harbaugh is constructing in Los Angeles, saying “loads of what they’ve now are what actually good Tremendous Bowl groups have.”Â
“It is wonderful that the Chargers, with basically the identical defensive personnel, have gone from the worst protection within the league with Brandon Staley, to now the No. 1 scoring protection with Jim Harbaugh,” Cowherd mentioned on “The Herd.” “Additionally, what is absolutely thrilling, as a result of there are loads of elements right here: Joe Alt seems to be like a house run at proper sort out. Two elite go rushers, two elite tackles. Quentin Johnston, who was a bust, proper? We thought he was a first-round receiver bust. No, he is not. Huge, 6-foot-4 monitor man.Â
“Now, you have bought an ‘A-plus’ head coach, ‘A’ quarterback, ‘A’ tackles, ‘A’ go rushers and J.Ok. Dobbins seems to be just like the Ohio State J.Ok. Dobbins, flipping into the tip zone.”
J.Ok. Dobbins leads the NFL in speeding by means of two weeks. (Picture by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Photos)
As Cowherd alluded to, the Chargers are getting contributions from a number of gamers within the early levels of the season. Dobbins leads the league in speeding with 266 yards on a whopping 9.9 yards per carry after tearing his Achilles final season. Johnston hauled in two receiving touchdowns within the win towards the Panthers, matching the full he had as a struggling rookie final season. Alt, whom the Chargers drafted with the fifth choose, has allowed simply two pressures to date this season, per Professional Soccer Focus. Left sort out Rashawn Slater has given up only one stress, in accordance with PFF.
Defensively, Joey Bosa already has two sacks whereas Khalil Mack has 1.5. As a group, the Chargers have pressured 4 turnovers already this season, which is tied for the fourth-most within the league.Â
That is all with out mentioning their star quarterback. Justin Herbert hasn’t needed to do a lot at this level, throwing for less than 274 yards by means of the primary two video games. Cowherd credited Harbaugh for taking stress off Herbert to succeed after the group closely relied on him to win video games in his first 4 seasons within the league.Â
[Related:What’s fueling J.K. Dobbins’ historic start with the Chargers?]
“Now this is Justin Herbert. It is so predictable, like Andrew Luck at Stanford with Harbaugh, principally managing the sport, not throwing the ball a ton,” Cowherd mentioned. “The truth is, he had beneath 30 throws within the first two video games. That is one thing that is by no means earlier than occurred in his profession, back-to-back video games beneath 30 throws.Â
“However what Jim Harbaugh is, is the NFL’s chilly press. He’ll extract each little bit of expertise out of your group. It is the identical protection, however now it is the No. 1 scoring protection.”
Herd Hierarchy: Chargers leap to High 3, Saints be part of, 49ers drop in Week 3’s High 10
As Cowherd sang Harbaugh’s praises by means of his 2-0 begin, the Chargers coach has a monitor file of turning issues round at his earlier stops. The San Francisco 49ers went from a six-win group to a 13-win group in Harbaugh’s first season, reaching the NFC title sport. Michigan went from a five-win group to a 10-win group in Harbaugh’s first yr again in Ann Arbor.Â
Harbaugh has already gotten fast outcomes from Chargers group that received 5 video games in 2023. Nonetheless, Cowherd argued that he and Los Angeles are able to greater than that.Â
“That is an actual offense. If you are going to beat the Chiefs, that is the best way to do it,” Cowherd mentioned. “Elite tackles, [other team] cannot get a go rush. Elite run sport, takes the ball means from [Patrick] Mahomes. Over-the-top receiver and rush ends that may put stress on Patrick. That is the best way to beat them.”
Harbaugh’s Chargers will quickly get the chance to see if they will compete with the two-time defending champions. Los Angeles hosts Kansas Metropolis in Week 4, which may decide who sits in first place within the AFC West for at the least the early a part of the season.Â
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