The Chargers were this close to moving to 3-0 on the preseason, but a miracle reception by the Rams with under 30 seconds left on a fourth-and-1o set them up just outside the end zone before Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett threw a dart to wide receiver Tru Edwards to seal the win.
The game was not without it’s strong performances, but a loss always means something went wrong somewhere, as well. Let’s go ahead and look at a couple players who balled out and helped their stock, as well as two players who may
have helped seal an unfortunate with the Chargers.
Winners
WR Tre’ Harris
Welcome to the NFL, Tre’ Harris!
After essentially finding himself completely off the box score in the team’s first two preseason games, Harris broke out in the team’s third outing this preseason to lead the group with six catches for 84, including a 34-yard over-the-shoulder grab that brought the Chargers to the one-yard line.
Harris showed off a well-rounded game against the Rams by winning in all three areas of the field. He muscled his way to grabbing a slant pass, he won with leverage to create space on a corner route, and he showed the deep ball chops to make his biggest play of the night.
Harris’ ability to win no matter the quarterback throwing him passes is a good sign for how he’ll fair when it’s only Justin Herbert throwing him the ball.
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith
Lambert-Smith bounced back after a down outing against the Saints to put another splashy stat line up against the Rams.
Following Quentin Johnston’s injury that took him out of the game, Lambert-Smith was the first of the two rookie draft picks in to replace him. It took just several plays for KLS to receive two targets from Justin Herbert, the first of which was a nifty catch near the sideline for 29 yards.
His second catch came later in the game on a deep ball from Trey Lance that looked very similar to the aforementioned Harris’ catch as he hauled in the pass before just barely getting both feet down inbounds. It was honestly astonishing he managed to secure the ball on top of his feet. The game’s commentators also couldn’t believe it and had predicted the completion to be overturned only for it to be upheld.
It was smart of the Chargers to sign Keenan Allen following Mike Williams’ retirement, but even if they didn’t, something tells me the receiver room would have ended up just fine this season.
Losers
QB Taylor Heinicke
This was another ho-hum outing for Heinicke who simply did not find a way to wow the coaching staff in his second bit of preseason action. He looked good on a couple scrambles to extend drives, but the passing game just seems to disappear when he gets into the game. He’s overthrown more balls than I could personally count and that’s a shame when Harris could have had an even bigger day if he didn’t sail multiple passes over his head.
While Lance wasn’t super efficient throwing the football in his snaps on Sunday, his ability to still use his legs and the deep ball prowess he’s shown may have finally pushed the QB2 job in his favor.
CB Ja’Sir Taylor
When defensive coordinator Jesse Minter told reporters earlier this preseason that Taylor was playing very well and making strides in his progression from a season ago, it was widely met with skepticism from the fan base. Taylor is entering his fourth year and is coming off what was arguably his worst season as a pro. He ended the regular season with the team lead in touchdowns allowed in coverage (five) and was seemingly always around the ball when the Chargers defense was the victim of frustrating and/or backbreaking plays.
I don’t know exactly what Minter has been seeing from Taylor as of late, but Saturday’s performance looked far too much like his 2024 form.
Taylor allowed a 38-yard touchdown in coverage on one play and was called for a blatant facemask penalty when he ripped the helmet off a Rams running back.
And almost in poetic fashion, Taylor was standing mere feet from the miracle completion on fourth down that allowed the Rams to go for the win at the end. Instead of leaping to try and make a play on the ball, Taylor stared the receiver in the face as he came down with the ball just feet from him.
If Taylor did not have a history of serviceable special teams play as one of the team’s starting gunners, then I believe he would have been off this team a long time ago. With some bright and exciting young corners in this batch of UDFAs, I think it’s time the Chargers turn the page and invest in guys like Nikko Reed and Eric Rogers (when he’s healthy).
