The Los Angeles Chargers didn’t have a big night offensively in their 27-6 win over the New York Jets, but the good news is that they did have a big night on defense. The Chargers racked up eight sacks on Zach Wilson and recovered three fumbles, prompting a scary warning from Brandon Staley after the game.
Staley’s defense with the Chargers has rarely looked like the unit many fans were envisioning, but for one night against the Jets at least, Los Angeles looked capable of featuring a game breaking defense to complement their explosive offense. With a victory in the bag, Staley said that this is simply what the Chargers defense looks like when they are fully healthy, and that will likely catch the attention of the rest of the NFL.
“Just when we’re healthy that’s how they’ll rush. They just haven’t been healthy together for very long, but when they’ve been healthy together, that’s how they’ve played. That’s why we have to keep them that way, but then when you get the other guys rushing, you know, when you have Tuli rushing as well as he is, Foxy [Morgan Fox], those interior guys, Derwin [James Jr.], it’s going to create more opportunities for everybody.” – Brandon Staley, Chargers.
With big name stars such as Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Derwin James Jr. leading the way, the Chargers have always had star power on their defense, but those guys were rarely ever on the field for extended periods of time with each other. But on Monday night they were, and they all looked great, as Bosa had 2.5 sacks, Mack had 2, and James had a team-high ten tackles while also recovering a fumble.
Staying healthy is going to be key, but if Los Angeles can do that, their defense has proven that they can be very dangerous. Beating up on the lowly Jets offense is nice, but there will be bigger challenges ahead for this unit. Assuming they can play like they did in Week 9, though, Staley seems to believe that they could wreak some serious havoc in the second half of the season.
