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Here Are The 3 Most Impressive Chargers Stats Entering Week 4

Tuli

The Bolts are 1-2 entering Sunday's home game against the Raiders, who also sit at 1-2.

Kickoff is at 1:05 p.m. (PT) from SoFi Stadium.

Here are three key Chargers stats ahead of Week 4:

1. Offensive EPA per play

The Bolts are just three games into a long season, but the offense has been clicking thus far.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Chargers currently rank second in the league in Expected Points Added (EPA) per play at 0.155. (For reference, EPA outlines how many points a team added to their expected point total on each play).

The Bolts are one of two teams ahead of the 0.150 mark, as the Dolphins sit at 0.392 EPA per play.

How good is the Bolts mark thus far? The Chiefs led the NFL with an offensive EPA per play of 0.159 last year.

The Chargers, of course, have been led by Justin Herbert, who has thrown for 939 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions so far.

Herbert was on fire Sunday against the Vikings, throwing his 100th career touchdown pass while recording the first 400-yard game of his career.

And he did it while facing one blitz after another against the Vikings defense.

2. Tuipulotu's pressures

Tuli Tuipulotu is not your average rookie.

The Chargers 2023 second-round pick has been thrust into a larger role the past two weeks as Joey Bosa has been on a snap count due to a hamstring injury.

No problem for Tuipulotu, who is thriving three games into his rookie year.

Per PFF, Tuipulotu's 13 quarterback pressures are the most by a rookie edge rusher through three games since Nick Bosa (17) and Josh Allen (15) in 2019. That stat was highlighted by a 10-pressure performance Sunday in Minnesota.

Tuipulotu currently leads all rookie edge rusher players in pressures and sacks, which he has two of.

Chargers Head Coach Brandon Staley on Monday raved about Tuipulotu's impact.

"This guy, we had a strong feeling about this guy in the springtime. That was without pads," Staley said. "When we got him in pads, I think in training camp … you knew he was going to be a factor. But then, I think in the preseason when we started playing games, you knew that this guy was going to have the physicality. He made a couple of big-time impact plays in the preseason. Negative plays.

"When we got to that first game — you just know when a player belongs. He's made plays in all three games and it hasn't just been like, a play," Staley continued. "It's been multiple plays in multiple games. He played a ton versus Tennessee — a ton — and then he played a ton [Sunday]. You're seeing him play starter reps."

Staley later added: "He's an improving player with a lot to learn. He's going to improve a lot. He's the right guy to be coaching."

3. Allen's career day

We might be saving the best for last here.

For all of Keenan Allen's success and accolades in his career, Sunday was simply the best game of his career.

His stat line? 18 catches for 215 yards, plus a 49-yard TD pass.

Let's run through all that Allen accomplished with Sunday's performance.

To start, he's now No. 2 in franchise history with 9,689 receiving yards and is No. 1 among all wide receivers.

His 18 catches is a Bolts single-game record. And he's the only player in NFL history with three career games of 15-plus receptions.

And his 215 yards were a career-best and the first 200-yard game of his career.

A few more nuggets on Allen:

He current ranks second in the NFL in yards after the catch (161), is third in receiving yards (402) and is fourth in yards per route run (3.12).

That final stat is an important one for wide receivers, as it shows the success they have on a down-by-down basis throughout the season.

Allen is on pace for the best season of his career in that stat. His previous career high in yards per route run was 2.55 in 2017.

Staley on Sunday called it a "maestro performance" from Allen.

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