The Chargers are in a weird spot with their second-year running back.
Omarion Hampton has arguably been the biggest bright spot of the offense through two games. But, he’s also turned the ball over twice in as many games. If I were to have predicted that Hampton and Justin Herbert would have a combined five turnovers through the team’s first two games, you would have laughed and said that’s just downright pesseimistic.
Well, here we are.
For the second week in a row, change and urgency are at the forefront
of Week Three’s preparation. Unsurprisingly, there was once again more bad than good. Here are this week’s winners and losers from Sunday’s loss.
Winners
Chargers run defense
The Chargers held Ashton Jeanty to a paltry 48 yards on 21 carries (2.3 YPC) and overall held the Raiders as a team to 2.0 yards per tote on 29 total attempts.
The run defense has been a rare bright spot for the Chargers through two weeks, but it all means nothing if the secondary cannot find a way to hunker down on the backend to stop allowing explosive pass plays in critical moments.
RB Omarion Hampton’s production
I do want to give Hampton his flowers in some way because the Chargers offense would honestly look even worse if he wasn’t there to churn out the gritty yards on the ground. He finished Sunday with 115 yards of total offense (94 rushing, 21 receiving) and his second touchdown of the season. It’s early, but his current pace puts him at 1,164 rushing yards which would be the most by a Chargers running back in quite some time.
Take away the fumbles and his pace would honestly be much more impressive, but this is reality of his situation. He has to eat those plays and get back to work.
Losers
RB Omarion Hampton’s ball security
Hampton was picked in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft for a reason. He’s a complete back who runs angry on every carry. He’s built to be a workhorse back in this league, but you can’t be a workhorse if you’re giving the ball away once a game. That’s exactly what Hampton has done by turning it over against both the Cardinals and Raiders.
Even after having over 100 yards of offense and a touchdown on Sunday, the only thing people will remember about Hampton in that game was the lost fumble during a drive where the Chargers were down only three points with the ball marching across midfield. There was 3:52 on the clock in regulation. A touchdown on this drive, if the Chargers ate the clock behind Hampton, would have given them a 4-point lead and dumped all the pressure on Cousins and the Raiders to find the end zone with very little time remaining.
It’s not just that the Chargers are turning the ball over in general, but also how and when they’re doing it. Each of Hampton’s fumbles came when the Chargers were within one score coming off a great defensive stop. This fumble came after they forced a three-and-out.
That’s beyond inexcusable.
S Genesis Smith
A rough day for a rookie who likely played more snaps than he was prepared for.
Smith was the culprit on the Raiders’ first touchdown of the game when he seemingly was one a separate page from R.J. Mickens while sitting in a two-deep look. On the play, wideout Tre Tucker stemmed vertically towards Smith who immediately opened his hips and allowed Tucker to gain inside leverage. When Tucker broke on his deep post route, Smith was already nowhere near able to make the play while Mickens was sitting on a deep comeback route on the other half of the field.
It was an excellent play design by Klint Kubiak to beat that two-high look, but there also can’t be a world where it wasn’t a massive blown assignment, as well. Smith’s action were counterintuitive to any normal two-deep coverage. If anything, it looked like he thought they were rolling to a three-deep look due to him instantly opening up.
On another player, the Raiders were facing a third-and-long. The Chargers came out in a Cover 4 look but rolled down into a Cover 3 with Smith as the down safety. At the snap, there are zero players in the middle of the field for the Chargers. Zero.
Smith is the only player in this coverage that needed to drift down and be a centerfielder around the second level. When the ball was snapped, Smith just…didn’t move. He hugged the left hash and left a wide open throw on the right seam the Raiders used to convert on the money down.
WR Quentin Johnston
That 65-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston from the preseason seems like a decade ago.
After looking like he may be a perfect fit for McDaniel’s offense, Johnston has been one of the most disappointing pass-catchers through the first two games of the season. While currently leading the team in targets (11), Johnston only has three receptions for 24 yards, ranking T-5th, and 5th on the team, respectively.
On Sunday, Johnston dropped a perfectly thrown Cover 2 hole shot by Herbert that would have been a chunk play at a time the team needed to build momentum. Other times through two games when he’s been targeted, it doesn’t look like he’s giving 100 percent effort, especially when he’s needed to come back to the football and outmuscle defensive backs.
After two solid seasons for Johnston, this year could end up being a disastrous campaign for him if things continue.
CB Cam Hart
Hart may have intercepted a pass on Sunday, but it somehow did not make up for the rest of his day.
After the Chargers defense got a much-needed stop on third down, Hart was flagged for illegal hands to the face which moved the chains for the Raiders.
In coverage, Hart allowed three receptions on five targets for 60 yards, including the 42-yard with under a minute left that helped the Raiders kick a field goal before halftime. That helped break the 7-7 tie the Chargers just created and allowed Las Vegas to gain a ton of momentum heading into the break.
Hart has been a solid player for the Chargers thus far in his young career, but Sunday’s showing was a low point against a team who entered the game with one of the worst receiver rooms in the entire league.
