Following the bye week, the Chargers will now face the Cowboys with a chance to go over .500 on the season. 3-2 would certainly feel like a step in the right direction after the team’s 0-2 start.
Winning against Dallas will not be easy, though. After a 42-10 loss to the 49ers on Sunday night, the Cowboys will be under intense pressure to get back on track offensively and defensively. Here are some players who need to perform to prevent a rebound game for Big D.
Buy Chargers TicketsCB Michael Davis
The story that dominated Chargers headlines during the bye was cornerback J.C. Jackson being traded to the Patriots. With that trade completed, Davis and Asante Samuel Jr. are officially locked in as the outside corners for the rest of the year. Unlike Weeks 1 and 2, there is no more three-man rotation to deal with on the outside.
That’s why there’s even more pressure on him to perform. To this point, the former BYU product has struggled. Davis has allowed 286 receiving yards and a 71% completion percentage when targeted, both on pace to shatter records for a single season in his career. The most penalties he has given up in a season is six. He’s already at five penalties committed in 2023.
Quarterbacks are throwing for a 138.8 passer rating on Davis targets. The sledding does not get any easier for this defense with Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes coming up in their next games. As he nurses an ankle injury, Davis will need to find a way to get back to his form from the end of the 2022 season in order to stabilize the secondary.
C Will Clapp
Corey Linsley remains on the NFI list with a non-emergent heart condition. Until there are more details on the situation, it should probably be assumed that Linsley is out for the foreseeable future with the Chargers not giving him a four-week injured reserve distinction.
Linsley coming back feels much more like an if than a when at this point. Clapp had a decent game against the Raiders in relief. He only allowed one pass pressure on 68 snaps played. There will likely be some communications and tweaks on the offensive line that need to be ironed out, but so far Clapp is off to a good start.
The Dallas defensive line will bring its own set of challenges. They have been the best front in the league when it comes to creating pressure and have the third-highest sack percentage. A lot of the offensive lines’ responsibilities in pass and run blocking will fall on Clapp without Linsley.
WR Joshua Palmer
Palmer will enter the last 13 games of the season in the team’s WR2 spot. The three main sets will likely be Keenan Allen, Palmer, and Quentin Johnston for the rest of the season (barring injury).
He’s been in this position before. Last year, Palmer was effectively the team’s first receiver on the depth chart in several games that Allen and Mike Williams missed.
If this Chargers’ offense is to remain a potent threat, they cannot lose the efficiency they’ve had on the field this year with both Williams and Allen in the lineup. Palmer doesn’t necessarily have to replace Williams’ production by himself, but the Chargers have to hope that he and Johnston can at least come close on a per-game basis.
The tight end room
Gerald Everett has not had the receiving production that most expected this year. He stands at 107 yards over four games. That puts him almost 10 yards per game behind his 2023 pace. In filling the Williams’ load this offense will be missing, Everett probably has to be one of the more consistent sources of offense for the team.
Donald Parham has a wrist injury that will likely take a few weeks to heal in terms of using him as a red-zone scoring threat. What really concerns me with this unit though is the below-average blocking. Stone Smartt and Tre’ McKitty both have PFF run-blocking grades under 35.
The tight end group needs to get a little more resolved from a receiving standpoint, but the blocking is the more important aspect that needs to get better in running Moore’s multi-tight end formations.
EDGE Khalil Mack
Mack had his best game as a Charger which earned him a 92.3 PFF grade against the Raiders. A six-sack, nine-pressure game was an effort that was much needed after an underwhelming first three weeks of the season.
Mack will need to have premium performances against good offensive lines as well, and that starts with Dallas. The former Bear is also increasingly more important with how banged up Joey Bosa is. It’s likely that Bosa will be able to return against Dallas in Week 5, but who knows how many snaps he’ll be able to play after dealing with nagging toe and hamstring injuries.
Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, and Bosa continuing to rack up pressures would put the Chargers’ in a really solid position with their EDGE room. But Mack regressing a bit to his average level in his LA career would be tough considering the state of the secondary behind him.
