Tag: Joshua Palmer

Chargers stock watch: Who’s up, who’s down following win in season opener

The Chargers performed better than many expected in Week 1. Several players stepped up in a surprising way, while a few others disappointed.

Morale is high after the Chargers’ season opening 22-10 victory over the Raiders. Now, they are set to face the Panthers in Week 2 in an attempt to keep the momentum going.

In the opening win, several players stepped up in a big way, while a few others disappointed. Here’s a look at who is trending up or down following the Chargers’ season opener.

Stock Up: RB J.K. Dobbins

There’s no doubt as to who boosted there stock more in Week 1. Dobbins’ 135 rushing yards was the third-most across the NFL, and it came on a total of just 10 carries. His injury history is well known, but if he continues to be efficient, he should only continue to see more snaps.

Stock Down: RB Gus Edwards

While Edwards wasn’t particularly effective in his team debut, this one has more to do with Dobbins’ performance. It was unclear as to who would see a majority of the work at tailback, and it still remains a bit up in the air. After the opener though, Dobbins is trending upwards which only hurts Edwards in turn. The former Baltimore Raven averaged just 2.4 yards per carry across 11 attempts. Edwards also saw less work in the passing game, as he finished with two less catches than Dobbins.

Stock Up: DL Otito Ogbonnia

The Chargers’ defensive front was stifling in the opening victory, which was largely led by Ogbonnia and Poona Ford. The defense allowed just 71 rushing yards, a sustainable recipe for success moving forward. Ogbonnia performed admirably in his fourth career start. While he won’t provide much of a pass rush, his presence in the running game will be crucial as the season goes on.

Stock Down: WR Joshua Palmer

2024 is supposed to be the season in which Palmer breaks out in a big way. The Chargers lost its two best wideouts this past offseason, and presumed starter D.J. Chark was placed on IR just ahead of the season opener. Despite the team’s 22-10 win, Palmer was disappointing in the opener. He finished the day with just two catches on four targets for 15 yards. It should be mentioned that Palmer was ejected from the game in the second half as well. There is still plenty of time for him to step up though, including a favorable matchup in Week 2 against the Panthers.

Stock Up: WR Ladd McConkey

McConkey was labeled as a major winner of the Week 1 victory, and as a direct result, his stock is only on the rise. The rookie led the offense in targets, catches, and receiving yards in addition to the lone touchdown in the passing game. Some thought that it may take him some time before becoming the team’s top wideout, but he may already be just that for the Chargers.

Stock Down: OL Bradley Bozeman

It wasn’t the best of performances for the seventh-year veteran center. In his first start with the new team, he was a bit erratic, including allowing a sack. To be fair, he had a difficult task in trying to contain Raiders star defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. Still, Bozeman’s poor performance has raised additional concerns on the Chargers’ interior portion of the offensive line.

Where the Chargers rank statistically after Week 1

Here is how the Chargers compare statistically to the rest of the NFL after Week 1.

After defeating the Raiders in Week 1, the Chargers will face the Panthers this Sunday.

Los Angeles will look to get their passing game going while keeping the momentum in the run game that was sparked in the second half by J.K. Dobbins. Defensively, they will seek the same level of dominance.

With Week 2 coming up, how do the Bolts compare to the rest of the NFL after the first week? Here is where Los Angeles ranks:

Offense

Category Stat Rank
Points per game 22.0 ppg 16th
Passing offense 140.0 ypg 23rd
Rushing offense 176.0 ypg 5th
Total offense 316.0 ypg 13th
3rd down conversions 26.67% 25th
Red zone scoring 50.00% 12th
Sacks allowed 1 T-1st
Turnovers 0 T-1st

Defense

Category Stat Rank
Points allowed 10.0 ppg 2nd
Passing defense 225.0 ypg 25th
Rushing defense 71.0 ypg 4th
Total defense 296.0 ypg 15th
3rd down conversions 35.71% 16th
Red zone defense — 1st
Sacks 4 5th
Takeaways 3 T-1st

 

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in Week 1 win over Raiders

Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ highest and lowest-graded Chargers players from the win over the Raiders.

In Week 1, the Chargers defeated the Raiders, 22-10.

En route to victory, there were some standout performers and others who did not contribute as much.

That said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s contest, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

OT Rashawn Slater — 74.8

RB J.K. Dobbins — 74.3

WR Ladd McConkey — 72.9

WR Quentin Johnston — 65.4

OT Joe Alt — 60.8

Top 5 Defense

EDGE Joey Bosa — 91.4

DT Poona Ford — 89.2

EDGE Khalil Mack — 87.2

S Elijah Molden — 82.9

CB Ja’Sir Taylor — 72.1

Bottom 5 Offense

TE/FB Scott Matlock — 27.4

TE Will Dissly — 39.8

WR Joshua Palmer — 46.7

OL Bradley Bozeman — 48.7

OL Zion Johnson — 52.4

Bottom 5 Defense

EDGE Bud Dupree — 29.7

LB Junior Colson — 44.8

DL Morgan Fox — 50.4

DL Scott Matlock — 53.5

DL Otito Ogbonnia — 56.6

No suspension for Raiders CB Jack Jones for part in fight during opener vs Chargers

No suspension Jack Jones and Joshua Palmer for their fight late in Sunday’s game.

Frustrations boiled over for the Raiders in the fourth quarter in their loss to the Chargers.

The Chargers scored their final touchdown of the game to go up 22-10 over the Raiders. They attempted a two-point conversion and failed. In the process, a fight broke out.

Several Raiders and Chargers players were involved, but it was Jack Jones and Joshua Palmer who threw punches and thus both players were ejected.

Whenever players are ejected, the league reviews it to see if the incident rises to the level of a suspension. And in this case they have decided it doesn’t.

You can bet fines are incoming. But that’s a much smaller issue than missing a game and a game check as a result.

Head coach Antonio Pierce called the incident “disappointing.”

“I get it, we’re protecting our teammate,” said Pierce. “But we never want to put ourselves in a position where it’s possibly ejection, fines, suspension down the road. We don’t want to be that team. The history of the Raiders has always been that team. We don’t want to have that. Our guys got to be careful. Again, I love protecting one another and going to battle for one another, but if you throw punches or anything, you’re in the wrong sport.”

Chargers WR Joshua Palmer sounds off on fight that led to ejection

Joshua Palmer said that he thought Raiders defenders were getting frustrated by the physicality of the receivers’ blocking.

Joshua Palmer and Jack Jones were ejected late in the fourth quarter of the Chargers’ win over the Raiders on Sunday.

Multiple players got into a fight following a two-point conversion attempt with 3:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, Palmer and Jones being the notable players involved.

Ladd McConkey was blocking Epps, and Palmer went to help. The two got into a fight in the back of the end zone. While attempting to break them up, other fights ensued, including between Quentin Johnston and Maxx Crosby.

After the game, Palmer told ESPN’s Kris Rhim and other reporters that he “got punched a lot,” including once by Jones earlier in the contest.

“They came and started throwing punches, but we’re not going to be punching bags,” Palmer said. “So we had to defend ourselves.”

Palmer said that he thought Raiders defenders were getting frustrated by the physicality of the receivers’ blocking.

“It’s not personal. There’s no bad blood,” Palmer added. “UFC guys beat up each other for a living, then they go back and shake hands. Especially in football, it’s nothing like that. But it’s not personal at all. We just do our job as hard as we can. We’re not trying to hurt anybody”

Jim Harbaugh said the team didn’t talk about the fight after the game.

“Just trying to get our guys back, get ’em separated, keep the rest of the guys coming,” Harbaugh said. “I just tried to break it up.”

Everything to know from Chargers’ win over Raiders in season opener

Here’s our recap of the Chargers’ 22-10 win over the Raiders.

The Chargers kicked off the Jim Harbaugh era in the win column, defeating the Raiders by the score of 22-10.

Here’s our recap of the Bolts’ victory in the season opener.

It was over when…

Ladd McConkey found the end zone to put the Chargers up two scores with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

Highlight of the game

The Chargers’ first touchdown of the season

https://twitter.com/chargers/status/1832905940326322325?s=46

Notable number

Jim Harbaugh improved to 5-0 as a head coach in season openers.

3 stars of the game

  1. RB J.K. Dobbins: After battling injuries throughout his NFL career, Dobbins dispelled those concerns with a monstrous performance in his first game as a Charger. He finished the game with 135 yards and a touchdown on ten carries, with long runs of 46 and 61 yards.
  2. EDGE Joey Bosa: Bosa’s past two seasons were shortened by injuries. But as we know, he is a force to be reckoned with when he’s on the field. And that he was, as Bosa made a few high-effort plays, including a forced fumble and a sack.
  3. EDGE Khalil Mack: Mack had a career year in 2023, and the veteran picked up where he left off. He amassed two sacks, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection that led to an interception by Poona Ford that sealed the game.

Quick hits

  • The offense experienced growing pains in the first half of the game. They failed to surpass 100 yards of total offense, averaging just 3.6 yards per play. Five penalties were committed. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards combined for 12 rushing yards on eight carries. The offensive line wasn’t gelling. Wide receivers weren’t getting open.
  • In the second half, things changed as the unit started to find a rhythm. The offensive line improved in pass protection and run blocking, eventually leading to their success on the ground. The Chargers finished with 158 rushing yards in the final two quarters.
  • The lack of talent in the wide receiver room was evident as players struggled to separate. McConkey led the group with five catches for 39 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Quentin Johnston showed some juice after the catch but had a dropped pass. Joshua Palmer only had two receptions for 15 yards. Palmer was eventually ejected after getting into a scuffle with Marcus Epps.
  • The offense only converted on third down four times on 15 attempts.
  • Justin Herbert finished the game 17-of-26 passing for 144 yards and a touchdown. Herbert was sacked just once.
  • Jesse Minter’s defense was tremendous. His group forced three turnovers and had four sacks. They also limited the Raiders to 3.2 yards per carry. The interior defensive line owned the line of scrimmage, the pass rush consistently got to Gardner Minshew, and defenders rallied to the football and made plays in the open field.
  • Cameron Dicker made all three field-goal attempts, with a long of 53 yards.
  • JK Scott did not have his best day. On seven punts, Scott only got one inside the Raiders’ 20-yard line and two went for touchbacks.

What’s next?

The Chargers are on the road to take on the Panthers (0-1) next Sunday, Sept. 15, at 10:00 a.m. PT.

Chargers rule out WR DJ Chark for Week 1 game vs. Raiders

The Chargers will be without one of their starting wide receivers.

The Chargers on Friday ruled out wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. for their Week 1 game against the Raiders on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

Chark, who is dealing with a hip injury, did not participate in practice this week.

With Chark sidelined, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston should see increased reps. Brenden Rice and Simi Fehoko could also get playing time.

Also on the injury report were cornerbacks Tarheeb Still (hip) and Asante Samuel Jr. (shoulder). They are questionable.

Quarterback Justin Herbert (foot) and wide receiver Joshua Palmer (knee) are good to go for the season opener.

Chargers WR DJ Chark misses second straight practice ahead of Week 1 vs. Raiders

DJ Chark is trending towards not being available this weekend against the Raiders.

The Chargers continued their preparation on Thursday for their season opener against the Raiders.

For the second consecutive day, wide receiver DJ Chark was not on the practice field. Chark is dealing with a hip injury.

Chark was signed this offseason to supply the offense with speed and someone who can stretch the field vertically.

If Chark can’t go this weekend, second-year wideout Quentin Johnston will likely see more playing time.

Cornerback Tarheeb Still was a limited participant for the second straight day. Still is also dealing with a hip issue.

In other injury-related news, quarterback Justin Herbert (foot) and wide receiver Joshua Palmer (knee) were full participants. Herbert was added to the report because the league advised the team to add him.

Where the Chargers rank statistically heading into Week 1

With Week 1 nearing, here is how the Chargers compared statistically to the rest of the NFL last season.

The Chargers are set to open up the 2024 regular season against the Raiders this weekend at SoFi Stadium.

Los Angeles no longer has the likes of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but Justin Herbert and a handful of other key players on both sides of the ball return. And there will be new faces, including Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey and Kristian Fulton, among others.

With Week 1 nearing, how did the Bolts compare to the rest of the NFL last season? Here is where Los Angeles ranked following the 2023 season.

Offense

Category Stat Rank
Points per game 20.4 ppg 21st
Passing offense 232.8 ypg 14th
Rushing offense 96.6 ypg 14th
Total offense 329.4 ypg 18th
3rd down conversions 38.40% 16th
Red zone scoring 57.45% 14th
Sacks allowed 43 20th
Turnovers 21 16th

Defense

Category Stat Rank
Points allowed 23.4 ppg 23rd
Passing defense 249.8 ypg 28th
Rushing defense 113.2 ypg 17th
Total defense 362.9 ypg 28th
3rd down conversions 38.36% 15th
Red zone defense 52.94% 12th
Sacks 48 7th
Takeaways 21 21st

Chargers’ unofficial depth chart heading into Week 1 vs. Raiders

Here is a look at the Los Angeles Chargers’ current unofficial depth chart.

The Chargers reconstructed their coaching staff and roster this offseason. Now, it’s time to take the field.

With five days until the Bolts’ first game of the 2024 regular season, here is a look at the team’s unofficial depth chart going into Week 1.

OFFENSE

Quarterback

Starter: Justin Herbert

Backups: Easton Stick and Taylor Heinicke

Running back

Starter: J.K. Dobbins OR Gus Edwards

Backups: Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins

Fullback

Starter: Scott Matlock

Backups: None

Wide receiver

Starters: Joshua Palmer, DJ Chark OR Quentin Johnston

Backups: Derius Davis, Ladd McConkey, Simi Fehoko and Brenden Rice

Tight end

Starter: Hayden Hurst OR Will Dissly

Backups: Stone Smartt

Offensive tackles

Starters: Rashawn Slater (LT) and Joe Alt (RT)

Backups: Foster Sarell (LT and RT)

Interior offensive linemen

Starters: Zion Johnson (LG), Bradley Bozeman (C) and Trey Pipkins III (RG)

Backups: Jordan McFadden (LG), Brenden Jaimes (C) and Jamaree Salyer (RG)

DEFENSE

Interior defensive linemen

Starters: Morgan Fox, Poona Ford and Otito Ogbonnia

Backups: Scott Matlock, Teair Tart and Justin Eboigbe

Edge rusher

Starters: Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack

Backups: Bud Dupree and Tuli Tuipulotu

Inside linebacker

Starters: Denzel Perryman and Daiyan Henley

Backups: Troy Dye and Junior Colson

Cornerback

Starters: Asante Samuel, Jr. and Kristian Fulton

Backups: Ja’Sir Taylor, Deane Leonard, Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart

Safety

Starters: Derwin James, Jr. and Alohi Gilman

Backups: AJ Finley and Elijah Molden

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker

Cameron Dicker

Punter

JK Scott

Long snapper

Josh Harris

Kick returner

Starter: Derius Davis

Backups: Ladd McConkey

Punt returner

Starter: Derius Davis

Backups: Ladd McConkey