As devastating as a loss Sunday was for those hoping to stay undefeated on the season, there was still some good to be had. Some of the young stars on the Chargers put up notable stat lines, including a breakout game for the team’s first-round pick.
However, one of the team’s biggest weaknesses got even bigger due to the loss of left tackle Joe Alt. That meant the Chargers were down to just two of their original five starters up front: Left guard Zion Johnson and center Bradley Bozeman. The sad thing
is, those two were the weakest links of the front five after Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh decided they’d get by without upgrading either spot.
So to no one’s surprise, the pass protection was dreadful.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Let’s go ahead and dive in to this week’s winners and losers from Week Four.
Winners
RB Omarion Hampton
I will take a little bit of a victory lap here after I called Hampton’s breakout game in last week’s Chargers-Giants game preview. New York was allowing over 150 yards on the ground per game through three weeks and even with a battered group, Hampton seemed close to breaking some in prior games so this just seemed right to forecast.
Hampton took 12 carries for 128 yards and a massive 54-yard touchdown that nearly gave the Chargers a shot at winning late in the fourth quarter. He also caught all five of his passes for another 37 yards, giving him a total of 165 yards of offense.
He nearly doubled his rushing total from the first three games (142) in this one game alone. It was stupendous to see as he had a number of other runs that really looked to juice up his teammates when they desperately needed it.
Hampton is currently on pace to rush for 1,147 yards and 8.5 if you extrapolate his production through the remainder of the season. His receiving production is also on pace for 467.5 yards, so there’s a chance the rookie could rack up over 1,500 yards of total offense if he continues this upward trajectory.
WR Quentin Johnston
We’ve played four whole games of the 2025 season and each one of them has included Johnston finishing with the team lead in receiving yards. He’s also scored four times in the team’s first four games. This isn’t a fluke anymore. Johnston is the team’s best wideout by most measures and it’s not all that close right now.
Through the first month of the season, Johnston has totals of 22 receptions (second on the team), 334 receiving yards (first), and four touchdowns (first).
If Johnston can continue this pace all season long, his final stat line could include 93 receptions, 1,432 yards, and 17 touchdowns. That’s not likely going to happen, but it does show you just how good he’s been through four games. However, if he finishes with over 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns, don’t be surprised.
Losers
Pass protection (again)
Left tackle Joe Alt left the Giants game in the first quarter after getting rolled up on. Later it was deemed that he suffered a high ankle sprain that will likely sideline him for a handful of weeks.
Without him, Austin Deculus took over at left tackle. That wasn’t idea after the Chargers already entered the game without right guard Mekhi Becton who is still in the concussion protocol.
By the end of the game, Herbert was pressured 21 times. Deculus allowed a team-high six. Jamaree Salyer was behind him with five and Bozeman was third with four.
That’s just no acceptable. At all.
Herbert has been hit 40 times in the last two games. At some point, these guys up front have to look within themselves and decide whether or not they’re going to continue being punching bags on the way to the quarterback or if they’re gonna put their foot down and say enough is enough.
WR Ladd McConkey
I’m really not sure what’s happening with the team’s WR1 from a year ago. This was the first game in his young career that McConkey had less than two receptions and certainly his first where he had more drops than completions his way (two). When McConkey dropped the surefire first down on the opening drive, you just knew it was going to be a day to forget.
Through four games, McConkey has 16 catches for 174 yards and zero touchdowns. The numbers will grow as the regression to the mean hits, but right now things are not looking all that hot.
