Justin HerbertL.A. ChargersNFL

Will the Chargers Be the Best Team in L.A?

The Chargers and San Diego went together as well as the Steelers and Pittsburgh or the Packers and Green Bay. Those Southern Cal-cool powder blue, gold and white uniforms with the lightning bolt logo made you want to grab your towel, head to the beach and chill out.

 

But the Chargers joined a list of soulless NFL franchises – Browns, Cardinals Colts, Raiders, Rams, Titans – that sold out for a new stadium. May none of them ever win a Super Bowl.

 

The Chargers now barely play a home game because those laid-back San Diego fans aren’t about to fight traffic on the I-5 to watch a team that a shares a stadium with the Rams.

 

 L.A. and San Diego are like the Bloods and Crips of California cities.

 

This is shame, of course, because this move coincides with San Diego having one of the five best young QBs in the NFL. You can put Justin Herbert right up there with Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen.

 

Herbert is a perfect fit for the Chargers. His low-key persona has San Diego written all over it. He’s thrown for almost 10,000 yards in his first two seasons, has a QB rating of 97.2 and is so cool in late-game situations you would think he’s a Zen Master.

 

The Chargers failed to make the playoffs last season (9-8) because the defense was too laid back. That couldn’t have been clearer than in the 35-32 OT loss to the Raiders in Week 18 that put Vegas in the playoffs and sent the Chargers home.

 

The offseason was basically a GoFundMe page for defense. They signed CB J.C. Jackson, but he’ll miss Sunday’s opener against the Raiders after undergo offseason ankle surgery. They traded for Khalil Mack which should make life easier on Joey Bosa.

 

The Chargers should be one of the best shows in L.A. Too bad for San Diego fans.

 

BET BETTER WITH BETBASICS:  Herbert is coming off a 5,000-yard passing season. He has great options in Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Austin Ekeler. But we don’t see Herbert eclipsing that 5K mark this season, which would be good news for the Chargers.

 

The defense should be much better, which means Herbert won’t be forced to throw the ball all over the yard. Ekeler rushed for a career-high 911 yards last season. We’re more optimistic about the strongest man in football, pound for pound, eclipsing 1K rushing, especially running behind a bigtime O-Line.

 

But we’re most excited about Bosa’s season. He has 58 sacks in six seasons and now he has a Mack truck lining up on the opposite side. Bosa’s career-high is 12.5. We’re taking the over. And the Chargers, not the Raiders, make the playoffs this season along with AFC West foes Denver and Kansas City.

 

ACE IN THE HOLE: After playing just five games in two seasons because of injury, safety Derwin James returned in 2021 with 118 tackles and five passes defensed. He signed a four-year, $76.million deal, the most for a strong safety, this offseason. James takes a step toward entering into the conversation of the best to play the position of all time.

 

MUST-WATCH TV:  How’s this for a wicked-good way to spend New Year’s Day in Southern California: The Rams “host” the Chargers at Sofi Stadium, meaning, and this is weird, the Chargers will dress in the visitor’s locker in their own stadium.

 

It also should feature a matchup between Matt Stafford and Herbert, two legit gunslingers. And two of the elite D-linemen in Bosa and Aaron Donald, are worth a picture in picture feature. Pull up a chair and kick up your feet L.A. football fans. At least the Rams and Chargers will truly feel like a they’re playing a home game this one weekend.

 

 

 

author
Lenn Robbins
Sports Journalist
Hi, I'm Lenn Robbins, a long-time sportswriter who still holds the detention record at Bildersee Junior High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., where I was born and raised. I came out of the womb a Mets fan, was baptized a Knicks fans and through the power of TV, became a Cowboys fan, which explains why I'm in group therapy. The name of my fantasy football league team is Sexual Chocolate. Anyone who can explain the origin of said team name, please h
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