The Chargers’ 34-24 win over the Texans wasn’t exactly pretty. However, there were electrifying moments of eloquence.
Houston kept Los Angeles on its toes in the fourth quarter, but the Bolts were able to close the game with a 14-yard scamper from running back Austin Ekeler into the endzone on a play-action bootleg with less than three minutes remaining.
“I thought Coach Staley said something pretty cool at the end,” Ekeler said. “He was like, ‘If we would have had a blowout win, it wouldn’t have been as meaningful, and I thought that was true. It came down to getting close in the 4th quarter, only up four like ‘Hey we have to go out there’.
It showed us a lot like ‘Hey, we have to put a drive together, we got a 4th down’. We got it, and we ended up with points to pretty much seal the game and get up two scores. I agree with him. I’m proud of the offense finishing the game like that.”
Entering Week 4, Ekeler had only 80 rushing yards on 32 carries. He also had not found the end zone. This changed Sunday, as the Ekeler finished with 13 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, he had six receptions and a receiving touchdown.
Ekeler’s performance is a shining light for Chargers fans and his fantasy owners since he had been largely absent on the ground in the first three games of the season.
Quarterback Justin Herbert spoke on the importance of the team’s run game: “It’s huge,” Herbert said. “It all starts with those guys up front, and to have the backs like we do, you got to take advantage of that. We think really highly of our offensive linemen, especially our running backs, so it was good to see today.”
The run game is a crucial element to a winning team in the NFL, and getting production on the ground going forward will help balance the passing game for Los Angeles.
“At the end, I thought, I loved our commitment to it,” Staley said on today’s run game. “I thought that that allowed our line to really get into rhythm, which I think helped our passing game. We didn’t get any big splitters today, but I thought we had a lot of productive runs, kind of stayed out of the negative runs, and it felt like we ran the ball really well when we needed to.”
Ekeler is the Bolts’ best asset on the ground, and if he can consistently perform with that sort of firepower he showed today, the Chargers will be one of the most dangerous offenses in the league this season.
As for the other running back’s performances, Joshua Kelley had four rushes for 15 yards, which came exclusively in the first half. Sony Michel had 11 yards on six carries, all of which came in the second half.
“I feel like we were able to put something together today even though it was still a battle,” Ekeler said. “Ended up getting what I felt like was a team win, so it’s good to get back on the right track. We’re trying to go on a run here, always starts with the first one so now we got one, and we have to do it again.”
