Chargers-Panthers takeaways: J.K. Dobbins rushes into spotlight

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The unbeaten Chargers won their first road game of the season Sunday,routing the Carolina Panthers 26-3.

What we learned from the team’s most lopsided victory since December of 2019:

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The Chargers have a running game (seriously!)

Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins runs past the Panthers defense for a touchdown.

The Chargers were 25th in the NFL in yards rushing last season, averaging less than 100 a game. And that was actually an improvement from 2022, when they were third from the bottom in the league.

Yet two Sundays into the new season, the Chargers’ J.K. Dobbins leads the league with 266 yards rushing — an average of 9.8 yards a carry — and the team’s ground game ranks second.

For that you can credit new offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who worked with Jim Harbaugh at Stanford and with the San Francisco 49ers, then with Harbaugh’s brother, John, with the Baltimore Ravens, before joining the Chargers this season.

“Coach Roman’s trying to teach us is have a balance,” quarterback Justin Herbert said. “We’ve done a great job of running the first couple of games. Coach Roman, he’s done a great job getting us in a position to succeed.”

And Herbert might prove to be one of the chief beneficiaries of the approach. In each of his first three seasons, Herbert ranked among the top four NFL quarterbacks in attempted passes. He was also sacked a combined 101 times in those three seasons.

Roman’s balanced approach will force defenses to respect the run, however, which figures to give Herbert more time when he does drop back.

“It’s a little different,” Herbert said. “It’s definitely super helpful going out there and knowing that you can hand the ball to J.K. and Gus [Edwards] and they’re going to fight for every yard. And so when we take our shots, take what the defense gives us, especially in the passing game, it’s only going to help us.

“I think my job as a quarterback is just to be a point guard, to get them the ball, to get us in the right looks. Give the ball to the playmakers, let them go make the plays. As long as I’m doing that, I’m doing my job.”

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No one should flip out over J.K. Dobbins’ start

Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins (27) is tripped up by Panthers defensive end A'Shawn Robinson (94).

After getting caught from behind on a 61-yard run in the Chargers’ season-opening win over the Raiders, Dobbins promised to work on his fitness to make sure that didn’t happen again. And it didn’t Sunday, when Dobbins ran away from the Panthers on a 43-yard scoring dash that gave the Chargers a 20-0 lead just before halftime.

“I saw an opening and I took it,” he said. “If someone runs a 4.2 [in the 40] — I don’t run a 4.2 — they may catch me.”

But Dobbins, who has had a long history of injuries, raised eyebrows when he celebrated the touchdown by somersaulting into the end zone. He said that drew a playful rebuke from general manager Joe Hortiz.

“He told me, ‘No more flips,’” Dobbins said.

Dobbins, limited to just 100 carries with Baltimore the last three seasons because of injuries to his ACL, meniscus, LCL, hamstring and Achilles, has rushed for more than 100 yards in his first two games with the Chargers. He is the only Charger to open a season with back-to-back 100-yard performances.

No one, he said, should be surprised by that. He certainly isn’t.

“I’ve been telling y’all all offseason. No one believed me but I’m speaking the word of God,” he said. “A lot of people talked about my injuries. They were unfortunate.

“That storm might be over. I am healthy now and I’ve been telling y’all, when I’m healthy, I can be one of the best.”

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Dicker the kicker is human after all

The Chargers' Cameron Dicker kicked field goals of 46 and 42 yards against the Carolina Panthers.

Kicker Cameron Dicker has been so consistent since joining the NFL — making 52 of 55 field-goal attempts and all 59 extra-point tries in this first three seasons — that he has come to be considered all but infallible.

He returned to Earth a bit in Charlotte, missing his first extra-point try, then failing to get the second-half kickoff into the landing zone. Under the new NFL kickoff rules, that gave the Panthers the ball on the 40-yard line and, six plays later, Charlotte scored its only points.

Dicker more than made up for those miscues with a pair of second-half field goals, from 46 and 42 yards, leaving five of five on field-goal attempts this season.

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Getting defensive

The Chargers' Joey Bosa (97) sacks Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.

Edge rusher Joey Bosa, who was questionable with a sore back, started Sunday and was credited with one of the Chargers’ two sacks. The performance Sunday was really a team effort, however, with the defense limiting Charlotte to seven first downs and two conversations in 15 tries on third or fourth down.

“During the preseason that was one of the big things that we were working on, getting off the field on third down,” said linebacker Denzel Perryman, who matched linebacker Daiyan Henley with a team-high five tackles, including a sack.

“Honestly, that’s a big accomplishment. We have to continue to play consistently together next week to have the same results.”