A stream of hope is flowing back towards LA.
The Los Angeles Chargers… For years now they have been their own worst enemy.
In the last three season the Chargers lost a total of 18 games by one score. Letting fourth quarter leads slip away was just par for the course.
So Bolts fans can be forgiven for expecting the worst and denying any small trickles of hope. The team they loved were displaying an uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
That appears – for now at least – to be changing.
New Head Coach Jim Harbaugh can take plenty of credit for the work he has done in LA so far – rightly so. But Jesse Minter’s impact has been just as noticeable.
The new Defensive Coordinator has turned a disorganised group into one of the very best in the NFL.
That is not just the view of one powder-blue-wearing fan, the numbers do not lie.
The Chargers have allowed the fewest points of any team in the NFL in 2024, averaging under 13 points per game.
This all comes less than one year after the Bolts defense ranked 29th in the league for passing yards allowed per attempt.
Minter has the AFC West franchise winning the turnover battle as well. The Chargers’ +9 differential through eight games is fourth best in the NFL.
They do – of course – have to thank the offense in part for that. As Justin Herbert’s singular interception is the lowest figure of any starting quarterback in 2024.
tarheeb w the assist
📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/qgopfcRer0
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) November 3, 2024
On Sunday, the Chargers beat the Cleveland Browns 27-10 on the road to move to 5-3 on the season. In doing so, Minter’s defensive unit became just the sixth team since 1990 to allow 20 or fewer points in eight straight games to begin a season.
The all-time record in that category was set by the New York Giants back in 1990 with 10 straight games. With the Tennessee Titans up next for the Bolts, who would bet against them extending the run to nine?
So what does this all mean? The Chargers have had years – some as recent as 2018 – where the damn burst and hope started to flood back.
The difference between those years and 2024, is that now the Chargers are a far more well-rounded team across offense, defense and special teams.
The metaphorical damn has not been fully knocked down – yet – but the cracks are getting larger and larger.
