What we learned from Sunday’s matches

What we learned from Sunday’s matches

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What Eric Edholm thought:

  1. The Chargers’ first win is a Jim Harbaugh classic. Harbaugh’s first game back in the NFL in nearly a decade was like many of his victories over the years: tough, stubborn and persistent. The Chargers couldn’t get anything going offensively in the first half, running into walls on the ground game while Justin Herbert and the passing game remained neutral. They had seven possessions in the first half — none longer than 15 net yards. But Harbaugh and Greg Roman didn’t deviate from their approach, the Los Angeles defense did its job in the meantime, and the process began to pay off in the second half. The run game began to undermine the Raiders’ impressive front, leading to game-sizing TD drives in the fourth quarter of 61 and 92 yards. The Bolts’ talent appears limited, with presumed WR1 Josh Palmer a tough game (he was also ejected late along with Raiders CB Jack Jones for fighting), which nearly cost his team a turnover on a dropped pass. Herbert never looked completely comfortable either, and there were too many bad penalties. But Harbaugh has enough power on both lines of scrimmage to win a few more 22-10-type games this season. Ugly win? Ha, that’s Harbaugh’s favorite kind. The Chargers will take it — and Harbaugh won them a game they probably would have lost a year ago.
  2. Antonio Pierce’s fourth-and-1 decision bears no fruit. With the Raiders trailing 16-10 midway through the fourth quarter, running back Alexander Mattison caught a checkdown on third-and-7, gained 6 yards and set up a fourth-and-1 from the Chargers’ 43-yard line. That’s when Pierce sent punter AJ Cole onto the field. The Raiders’ run game had done next to nothing up to that point, and Zamir White was stopped earlier in the game on fourth-and-1 and third-and-1 runs. Still, the call felt indefensible — and Next Gen Stats agreed, saying the situation gave Pierce a “Go For It” edge on points by a healthy 5.5 percent. Meaning: Pierce probably should have gone for it. The Chargers would then turn the field with a game-winning 61-yard dash, setting up another touchdown and putting him behind by two scores. Pierce did a lot of good things in his interim coaching stint last year to earn him the full-time opportunity, but he also lacked aggression late in Miami’s loss, which paled in comparison to the more aggressive approach he took in the win over the Jets. It appeared Pierce was still feeling his way through the lane in his 10th regular-season game — and first as The Guy. He may look back and regret his decisions in the fourth quarter of this game.
  3. Welcome back, JK Dobbins. When asked this week how he would split carries between Gus Edwards and Dobbins, who were listed as co-starters for the Chargers, offensive coordinator Greg Roman promised to run “the hot hand.” Edwards might get the start, but on Sunday, the hotter hand belonged to Dobbins. Neither Chargers back did much until the second half, with Edwards gaining 9 yards on his first five carries and Dobbins having just 6 yards on three runs. But Dobbins ripped off a 46-yarder — his longest run since his rookie year of 2020 — to set up a field goal, and later added a 12-yard TD run to put the Chargers up 16-7 early in the fourth quarter. Then Dobbins went 61 yards on a back-breaking run with four minutes left to lift him over the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time since Week 15 of the 2022 season. What those handful of explosive runs showed was that he looked healthy again — with a little spring in his step. Dobbins has struggled with injuries since entering the NFL. He tore his ACL to cut short his 2021 season, re-injured the same knee to cut short his 2022 season and also suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the season opener almost exactly a year ago.

Next Gen Game Stats: Chargers rookie RT Joe Alt didn’t allow a single QB pressure in 11 pass-rushing games against the Raiders Maxx Crosbyall in 1-on-1 situations. Crosby has not been subjected to zero pressure in a matchup against an offensive lineman since Week 9, 2022 (minimum 10 matchups). On the day, Alt allowed three pressures in his 28 total pass-blocking snaps (10.7% pressure rate).

NFL Research: With the win, Jim Harbaugh improved his NFL head coaching record to 45-19-1, for a .700 winning percentage. That now ranks fifth all-time (minimum 60 games). Harbaugh is also 5-0 in Week 1 as a head coach.