We’ve finally hit the regular season of what was a long and hyped offseason. The Chargers will finally take the field inside SoFi Stadium on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, bringing in the start of a new era for the Bolts as they trot out two new coordinators.
Mike McDaniel is bringing his explosive and dynamic offense from his time in Miami to the Bolts and quarterback Justin Herbert. Chris O’Leary, a former understudy of Jesse Minter, will look to keep his unit amongst the best in the NFL
while putting his own spin on things.
While the Cardinals are not the most intimidating of opponents to open your schedule with, they’re nonetheless a team who could surprised if not taken seriously enough. The Chargers must button up and inflict their will on Arizona to show they’re still the same team who won 11 games in each of the last two seasons.
With that said, here are three things to watch for when these teams take the field on Sunday afternoon.
1.) Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt get tough task in season opener
Sunday’s game against the Cardinals will be the first time Rashawn Slater will step on the field for the Chargers since January of 2025 (wild card loss to the Texans). That was the last time both him and Alt were on the field together, as well.
In Week One, they’ll get a tough draw in edge rusher Josh Sweat who is coming off a career-high 12 sacks last season. That number may be a bit of an outlier as Sweat only accumulated 47 total pressures on the year which was his lowest since the 2021 campaign. Whether that means he has simply gotten better at finishing or not, it’s still an excellent opportunity to show just how dominant this duo is when healthy.
2.) How will Chris O’Leary look in his debut as an NFL play-caller?
After one season calling the defense for Western Michigan, O’Leary is entering his first season of any kind as a NFL coordinator. He is also following in the footsteps of Jesse Minter who made the Chargers a top-five defense in each of his two seasons in Los Angeles.
In his first game as DC, O’Leary gets the pleasure of putting a game plan together to stop the likes of tight end Trey McBride, wide receivers Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr., and running back Jeremiyah Love. McBride is coming off a historic season for a tight end where he caught a single-season record 126 passes. Wilson also just got extended after his first 1,000-yard season.
Love is a little bit of an X-factor here. He missed most of August with an ankle injury and recent reports have not been confident that he will be 100 percent in time for Sunday’s game. Mike LaFleur said he will play, but how many snaps remains to be seen. Either way, Love went third overall in the draft for a reason. He’s equally dangerous as a runner and a receiver.
Here’s to hoping O’Leary has his front seven locked in.
3.) Which skill players will show out in Mike McDaniels’ first game as OC?
It’s been a long offseason of hype for McDaniel and what his offense will do for guys like Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey, and Omarion Hampton. Now, it’s finally time to see which will come to fruition.
Hampton stands to gain the most in his second year after injuries took most of what was otherwise a very promising rookie campaign when you look at his per-game numbers. If Hampton truly gets the lion’s share of the opportunities, a massive season is seemingly assured. Reaching 1,000 yards of total offense seems like a given, but what about 1,500+? Not a crazy prediction if he manages to play all 17 games.
As for McConkey, he will look to get back to his rookie form where he recorded 82 receptions for 1,149 yards during the regular season, on top of the 197 he posted against the Texans in the wild card round. Reaching 100 receptions for the first time is in the realm of possibility.
When it comes to Johnston, he has back-to-back eight-touchdown seasons while posting no more than 735 yards in a season. Depending on his exact role week-to-week, he could also be one to either push for 1,000 yards or make it to double-digit receiving touchdowns. The latter of which hasn’t been done since Mike Williams caught 10 touchdowns (11 total scores) during the 2018 campaign.
