Otito Ogbonnia

Chargers film room: Poona Ford anchors strong Week 1 defense

Poona Ford was one of the bright spots for the Chargers defense that held the Raiders to 71 yards rushing in a Week 1 victory.

The Chargers looked like a completely different run defense in the first game of the Jim Harbaugh era, holding the Raiders to just 71 yards on the ground as a team.

Instrumental in that effort was defensive tackle Poona Ford, who signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles in the offseason after playing a depth role for the Bills in 2023. Penciled in as a starter nearly by default because of the Chargers’ struggles on the defensive interior, Ford broke through with one of the best games by any defensive tackle in the NFL in Week 1 to aid Los Angeles’ defensive effort.

Let’s turn to the film to see how Ford made his impact.

Ford started strong on the opening drive of the season, pushing Raiders center Andre James into the backfield and forcing running back Zamir White to funnel his carry back inside on 3rd and 1. White’s cut brings him back into the path of Joey Bosa pursuing on the back side of the play. Bosa makes the play, forcing a Raiders punt.

On the next Raiders drive, Las Vegas lines up to go for a 4th and 1 from their own 41, bringing tight end Michael Mayer into the backfield in a pistol look. Ford beats James instantly off the snap and runs through Mayer, causing a pileup in the backfield that absorbs White and stuffs the Raiders. The field position set up the Chargers for the opening field goal of the game.

Ford initially gets driven off the ball by Raiders guard Cody Whitehair on this toss play in the second quarter as James pulls to support the block, but Ford gets past the double team and helps close the hole alongside cornerback Kristian Fulton to limit White to a gain of 2 on first down. Fulton slips a block from Mayer to help Ford make the tackle.

Coming out of the two-minute warning, the Raiders try to set up a screen to running back Alexander Mattison, but Ford reads the play after getting through the A gap without much resistance from James or Whitehair. Instead of chasing after Gardner Minshew, Ford runs with Mattison and tips the ball. As Mattison tries to corral it, Ford continues to play through his hands, eventually knocking the ball away and forcing the Raiders into a third down.

On a 3rd and 7 in the third quarter with the Chargers leading 9-7, Jesse Minter dials up a sim pressure with Junior Colson, Daiyan Henley, and Derwin James all walked up to the line of scrimmage. All three of them come on the blitz while Ford briefly engages with Andre James before dropping into a zone over the middle. The design prevents the Raiders from sliding the protection to either side. Henley jumps to get in the throwing lane of Minshew and Colson breaks into the pocket for a pressure, forcing a throwaway. Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson missed a 49-yard field goal on the next play, leading to a Chargers touchdown drive.

Zooming out to the field view for this 3rd and 10 from the Chargers 23, the seventh play of a pivotal Raiders drive early in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas runs a screen to wide receiver DJ Turner on the outside and has three blockers, including two offensive linemen, for three Chargers defenders in front of Turner. As he approaches the first down marker, however, Turner is chased down by Ford, stopping him short of the sticks and forcing the Raiders into a field goal attempt to make the game 16-10 rather than setting up a red zone first down to cut the lead to two.

Ford caps off his performance – and the game – with this tip drill interception just after the two-minute warning. Khalil Mack drives right tackle Thayer Munford Jr. back as Minshew tries to swing the ball to Mattison. Mack gets his hands up and bats the ball into the air right as Ford disengages from his blocker. Unlike most defensive tackles who let the ball fall into their chests, Ford extends outside his frame slightly to make the catch and gets to the ground to secure the victory.

Ford continuing his strong play will be instrumental in the Chargers fielding a top defense this season, as his Week 1 tape was some of the best Los Angeles has gotten from a defensive tackle in the last couple of seasons. Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack both looked impressive as well, setting up a potentially dominant Chargers front if all three can sustain their levels of production.

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.

Projecting the Chargers’ interior defensive line depth chart in 2024

Taking a crack at projecting what the Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle room will look like entering the 2024 season.

Over the next few weeks ahead of training camp, I will continue to break down the depth chart for each Chargers position.

Next, I project what the interior defensive line room will look like heading into the 2024 season.

Morgan Fox

Fox joined the Chargers ahead of the 2022 season, where he had a career year. He recorded 40 pressures, 6.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hits. For his efforts, Fox was re-signed last offseason. He continued to be an impactful interior pass rusher, finishing with 37 pressures and five sacks. Fox is in the final year of his contract.

Poona Ford

The Chargers lacked veterans in the positional room aside from Fox, so they went out and signed Ford on a cheap deal. Like Fox, Ford will be able to come on as a pass rusher from the middle of the defensive line. He can play on early downs. While he hasn’t been as a good defending the run the past couple of seasons, he has shown the ability to put on strong in this department in his early playing days with the Seahawks.

Justin Eboigbe

After signing Ford, the Chargers still needed more reinforcements up front so they selected Eboigbe in the fourth round of this year’s draft. Eboige is an interior defender who is tough and well-built with the strength to anchor at the point of attack and eat up double teams. While his strong suit is in run defense, he showed the explosiveness and technicality to get after the quarterback last season.

After being selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft, Ogbonnia made a name for himself in his rookie season. While he may not have stood out on the stat sheet, with 14 tackles and a tackle for loss in seven games, Ogbonnia was a reliable run defender by penetrating the backfield to cause havoc and occupying double teams. Unfortunately, a ruptured left patellar tendon during Week 7 cut his season short. Ogbonnia worked his way back and appeared in eight games last season, totaling 21 tackles and two QB hits.

Christopher Hinton

I expect the Chargers to roster five interior defenders, which means this will be a battle between a handful of players, including Hinton, Scott Matlock and Jerrod Clark. Hinton, the former five-star recruit, gets the nod because of his familiarity with Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. Hinton has shown flashes of being a nice rotational piece.

Chargers’ Giff Smith on Sebastian Joseph-Day’s release: ‘It was in the best interest of the team’

Gift Smith was asked about the release of Sebastian Joseph-Day.

After being waived just a week ago, former Chargers defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the 49ers.

At the time of his signing, Joseph-Day indicated that he was thankful for his release and the opportunity to play with the Niners. But he decided to keep any comments on what wrong in Los Angeles to himself.

Chargers interim head coach Giff Smith was finally asked about the surprise release at his Friday media availability.

It was a situations where myself and JoJo [Wooden], just in talking really, the easiest way to say is that it was just in the best interest for the team. Other stuff I’d rather just keep in-house, but we wish him the best. I hope he does well in San Francisco and that everybody moves on.

Certainly, that quote puts to bed the idea that the two sides were amicable at the time of release. Some had speculated that Joseph-Day asked for his release in advance to join a contender. But clearly as demonstrated by the friction between the two sides, that’s not what had happened.

Joseph-Day was signed to a three-year deal in the 2022 offseason with the team in Brandon Staley’s first big spending splurge as head coach. Staley brought in a few of his “guys” over the year from previous stops in the NFL.

With a new general manager and coaching staff coming in for 2024, it was unlikely that Joseph-Day had much of a chance to remain on the team. Especially when weighing his current production with the team’s own cap situation. The most optimal time to make the move may have been now.

Scott Matlock, Otito Ogbonnia, and other members of the defensive tackle room will have an opportunity for an increased workload in Joseph-Day’s absence. That will start with the Broncos on Sunday and a Week 18 finale against the Chiefs.

Chargers final injury report: WR Joshua Palmer ruled out vs. Jets

The Chargers will be thin at the wide receiver position.

Joshua Palmer was ruled out for the Monday night game against the Jets.

Palmer is dealing with a knee injury he sustained in Week 7 against the Chiefs and aggravated last Sunday against the Bears. He did not log a practice during the week.

With Palmer out, rookie Quentin Johnston is positioned to be a top target alongside Keenan Allen. Johnston had five catches for 50 yards in Week 9.

The Chargers have six players questionable: Morgan Fox (oblique), Jalen Guyton (knee), Sebastian Joseph-Day (illness), Eric Kendricks (ribs), Kenneth Murray (shoulder) and Otito Ogbonnia (knee).

Brandon Staley commented on Guyton and Ogbonnia, who have yet to be activated off the PUP list, potentially making their return on Monday.

“We’re going to take the next 48 hours to determine that,” Staley said. “They had a full week of practice. Just going to talk about it as a coaching staff and figure it out between now and when we leave.”

Chargers Week 9 injury report: Who practiced, who didn’t on Thursday?

Jalen Guyton was a full participant.

The Chargers had their first practice in preparation for Monday night’s game against the Jets on Thursday.

Wide receiver Joshua Palmer was the only non-participant. Palmer was out with the knee injury he sustained in Week 7 against the Chiefs and reaggravated this past weekend against the Bears.

Defensive lineman Morgan Fox and linebacker Eric Kendricks were limited participants with oblique and rib injuries, respectively.

Wide receiver Jalen Guyton (knee) and defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia (knee) were full participants. They are in their third week of practice since their 21-day activation window was opened.

Chargers Thursday Week 8 injury report vs. Bears: WR Joshua Palmer a non-participant

Joshua Palmer was a non-participant for the second consecutive day.

The Chargers had their second practice before Sunday’s matchup with the Bears on Thursday.

Joshua Palmer (knee) was a non-participant for the second consecutive day. Palmer was the only player that did not practice.

Jalen Guyton and Otito Ogbonnia logged their first full practice since their season-ending injuries in 2022.

Los Angeles opened the 21-day practice window for them last week.

After missing practice on Wednesday, Gerald Everett (hip) was a limited participant.

Other limited participants were Alohi Gilman (heel) and Deane Leonard (hamstring), both of whom missed the last three games with their respective injuries.

Chargers DT Otito Ogbonnia working way back from knee injury

Otito Ogbonnia was spotted at practice on Tuesday working off to the side with a trainer.

It’s been nearly since Chargers defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia last touched a football field.

Ogbonnia, the 2022 fifth-round pick out of UCLA, missed Los Angeles’ final 11 games last year after suffering a ruptured left patellar tendon during Week 7 against the 49ers.

As a result, Ogbonnia began this season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Now that four games have passed, he is eligible to be activated off the list.

It remains to be seen when that time will come, but Ogbonnia was spotted at practice on Tuesday working off to the side with a trainer, according to NFL Media’s Bridget Condon.

It’s very encouraging to hear. Getting Ogbonnia back would give the Chargers a boost on the defensive line.

While he may not have stood out on the stat sheet, with 14 tackles and a tackle for loss in seven games in 2022, Ogbonnia was a reliable run defender by penetrating the backfield to cause havoc and occupying double teams.

We will continue to monitor the status of Ogbonnia.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley on Austin Johnson’s return: ‘He’s ready to play’

The Chargers’ defense gets a boost with the return of Austin Johnson.

The Chargers were riddled with injuries last season, and one of the key losses was of defensive tackle Austin Johnson.

Johnson suffered a fractured knee and MCL injury in Los Angeles’ Week 9 win over the Falcons and spent the remainder of the 2022 season on injured reserve.

Johnson was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list after he passed his physical on Aug. 17.

“He’s ready to play,” Brandon Staley said. “He wouldn’t be active if we didn’t think that he could play. There’s probably going to be a certain amount of snaps that we kind of have projected for him. But he’s going to be full speed.”

Before he got hurt, Johnson was a cog in the middle of the defensive line. He was tied for the team lead in run stops with 14 and led the team in run stop percentage at 11.4%.

Having him back on the field will be vital as the Bolts look to improve their run defense from last season.

The Chargers finished 27th in the league, allowing 144.2 yards rushing per game. A lot of the damage came after Johnson and Otito Ogbonnia sustained their season-ending injuries.

Ogbonnia is still on the IR and will miss the first four games of the season as he continues to work his way back from his knee injury.

6 storylines to follow in Chargers’ preseason finale vs. 49ers

Be sure to keep an eye on these six storylines as the Chargers square off with the 49ers on Friday night.

The Chargers face off against the 49ers on Friday night before head coach Brandon Staley and company begin their trimming of the roster to 53 players next week.

Here are six storylines to watch for during Los Angeles’ final preseason matchup against San Francisco: