The New Orleans Saints head to Los Angeles in Week 8 for a late kickoff against the Chargers on Oct. 27. This will be the first of the Saints’ two games against the L.A. teams this season, as they will also host the Los Angeles Rams later down the road.
It’s been a few years since these teams crossed paths. The Saints last saw the Chargers in the regular season in 2020 where they found themselves down 17 points late in the second quarter, only to climb back to secure a 30-27 overtime victory in Drew Brees’ final year with the team. The Chargers do however lead the series 7-6 versus the Saints all-time, dating back to their first win in 1973.
This offseason, the Chargers hit a bit of a reset button starting with the hire of longtime Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has been one of the most successful coaches in both the NFL and the NCAA; he’s an old rival of the Saints’, having gone 3-1 against them in his four years with the San Francisco 49ers, including the playoffs. The Chargers let go of some major contributors specifically on the offensive side of the ball, letting wide receiver Mike Williams and running back Austin Ekeler walk in free agency. The team also decided to trade six-time Pro Bowl wideout Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears this offseason as well.
With this though, the team did add some real talent in the draft through their first two days. In Round 1, the Chargers selected offensive tackle Joe Alt out of Notre Dame who was arguably the best tackle in his class to pair up with All-Pro left tackle Rashawn Slater. On Day 2, they went on to add one of the most crafty route-runners in the draft in Georgia’s Ladd McConkey to help fill a void at the position. On the very same day, Jim Harbaugh made a pick of his very own in selecting Michigan linebacker Junior Colson to solidify a front seven led by Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa. Needless to say, a nice influx of youth for the Chargers.
The Chargers aren’t the same team they were a couple years ago with the amount of talent they had on the offensive side of the ball, but the Saints will still have to plan for quarterback Justin Herbert. In Herbert’s lone game against the Saints in his rookie season, he threw for 264 yards and 4 touchdowns, almost single-handedly winning the game for his team before the Saints rallied back. The past couple years have been underwhelming for him and his team but with head coach Jim Harbaugh at the helm, we can expect improvement from the young player.
What the Saints can’t overlook however, is the L.A. pass rush. Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa pose the NFL’s best pass rushing duo when healthy. Just last season, Mack recorded 17 sacks for his team which was good for third in the NFL. Joey Bosa on the other hand recorded 6.5 sacks in 9 games before sustaining a season ending foot injury sidelining him for the rest of the year. With the Saints offensive tackle situation still uncertain, the team will undoubtedly have their hands full against this duo. It may even be the deciding factor in this one. But we will see, we’ve got quite a ways to go until then.
- Game information: New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers
- Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.
- Date: Oct. 27
- Time: 3:05 p.m. CT / 4:05 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: FOX
