A lot of things are falling into place for the Los Angeles Chargers at the moment. The team around last year’s rookie and quarterback Justin Herbert has had a fantastic start to the season. The recipe for success: the perfect mix of talent and experience.

Los Angeles/Munich – Last year, there were flashes of the potential the Los Angeles Chargers have with their young quarterback talent Justin Herbert. Now not only Herbert has established himself as an exceptional player, but also his team is suddenly one of the favourites.

Not only the recent 28-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in week four of the NFL season has shown that the Chargers are ready for greater things. And the success is no coincidence, but the result of a good composition of the team.

Because in the structure of the Chargers, each professional benefits from the other. The mixture of talent and experience seems to be a cocktail of success. And the Chargers are currently serving it up week after week – ice cold and without a straw for the opponent.

Suddenly favourites in AFC West?

Before the win against the Raiders, the Chargers also landed a win against arguably their biggest divisional rival – the Kansas City Chiefs.

The very fact that the comparison can be made is a milestone for the franchise from L.A. Because after two years without playoffs, in which the Chiefs reached the Super Bowl twice, no one expected the balance of power to change so much before the current season.

But while Kansas City (two wins, two losses) stumbles, the Chargers (three wins, one loss) are right there. Head coach Brandon Staley’s team lost in week two to strong Dallas Cowboys, but otherwise showed very appealing performances. The Chargers improved in all parts of the team during the offseason. Plus, they have a quarterback who is playing at an MVP level.

Herbert shows new qualities

Because Justin Herbert is confirming his performance from last year, when he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. In fact, the 21-year-old is stepping it up a notch this season.

Herbert already put up extraordinary numbers in his rookie season: 4,336 passing yards and 31 touchdown passes. Against the Raiders, the sixth pick of last year’s draft shined again, throwing three touchdown passes, passing for a total of 222 yards and remaining almost flawless. But there is one quality he is now demonstrating much better: Herbert can decide games down the stretch.

Out of nine losses in the preseason, the Chargers lost seven games by one score (maximum seven points). There was also a razor-thin 17:20 defeat against the Cowboys in the current season. But especially in the spectacular away win over the Chiefs, Herbert showed unknown enforcer skills and fired a slender four touchdown passes into the end zone on the side.

And against the Raiders, too, the Chargers offence presented itself in the decisive minutes in a very cool manner. In the fourth quarter, a touchdown run by running back Austin Ekeler clinched the game.

“We told everyone we had to believe in ourselves and we did well and played well,” Herbert said after the third win of the season. “We had a good plan all week. “

Ekeler takes running game to new level

There’s no doubt that Ekeler currently counts as one of the faces of the upswing. The 26-year-old is playing his fifth NFL season and has made one of the biggest leaps in development this year. In four games, Ekeler ran the ball for 283 yards and thus currently ranks among the top 10 rushing leaders.

The importance of the running back for the current success of his team became clear in the third quarter of the game against the Raiders. After hurting himself in a previous action, Ekeler limped off the field and took a few minutes off. The offensive flow was lost. Instead of extending the lead, the Chargers suddenly got into trouble. 

But in the fourth quarter Ekeler was back: With several runs he powered his team forward in a five-minute drive. Finally, he himself carried the ball into the end zone and decided the game.

Defence drives even Mahomes to despair

Another guarantee for success is the work on the other side of the ball. The defence, which already played at top-10 level in the preseason, has found itself and established itself. None other than Patrick Mahomes brought the Chargers to despair in week three. The Super Bowl champion from 2020 threw two interceptions and looked helpless at times.

And now the defensive line around defensive end Joey Bosa, cornerback Michael Davis and Co. put in another top performance. Against the Raiders, one of the most offensively potent teams at the moment, the Chargers allowed a total of just 51 yards in the first half – ending up with 251. But with the performance before the break, L.A. laid the foundations for success on both sides of the ball.

Not just relying on talent

In terms of squad structure, head coach Staley and general manager Tom Telesco have done a good job. In addition to Herbert, Rashawn Slater (offensive tackle), Kenneth Murray (linebacker) and Asante Samuel (cornerback) are three other top performers playing under rookie contracts. Not all bad for the financial fabric, either: the Chargers have the seventh-largest cap space in the league.

But the team has its clear leaders: In addition to Bosa (fifth NFL year) and Ekeler (fourth NFL year), they also include wide receiver Keenan Allen (eighth year) and centre Corey Linsley (seventh year). There also wasn’t much squad movement this offseason. The team is a real team and benefits from each other.

The cocktail of success seems to be perfectly put together by now, now it just has to be served at the decisive moment.