The Chargers are back home in Week 5 against the Washington Commanders.

Kickoff is at 1:25 p.m. (PT) from SoFi Stadium.

The Chargers-Commanders betting line shows the Bolts are the favorites on Sunday.

Here are five final thoughts ahead of Week 5.

1. A new opportunity

Don't let one loss turn into two.

That's the mindset of the Chargers as they look to bounce back from their first defeat of the year.

Players and coaches have talked this week about learning from Week 4's loss to the Giants while wanting to put out a cleaner and crisper performance.

"We're trying to get that taste out of our mouths," Ladd McConkey said. "The great teams will respond and I feel like we're a great team.

"We've just got to come out and execute," McConkey added. "We didn't play our best ball and we know that. Let's fix it and execute this game."

Bud Dupree added: "It's an opportunity to go out and fight through adversity early in the season. We'll roll through the punches."

The Bolts will be looking to clean up a sloppy performance in which they had 14 total penalties for 107 yards.

Offensively, the Chargers know they must also protect Justin Herbert, who was hit a dozen times last weekend.

"He's getting hit too much, too many unnecessary hits," Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman said. "There's going to be some. But not that many."

With Joe Alt out for Week 5 and Mekhi Becton listed as questionable, the Chargers might have to reconfigure things along the offensive line.

"Anybody on our roster has to be ready to go, especially at the O-line position right now," Roman said.

The Chargers defense, meanwhile, will look to force takeaways against Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is set to make his return from a two-week absence.

The Bolts forced three turnovers in Week 2 against the Raiders but didn't collect any the past two games.

"For us as a unit, getting back to the fundamentals, what makes good defenses, what makes us, us, our DNA," Alohi Gilman said. "That's something we've been harping on."

The Chargers are 3-1 and know Sunday's result is a big one, as a 4-1 record would clearly look better than 3-2.

Let's see how the Bolts bounce back Sunday at home.

"It's always about how you respond," Tony Jefferson said. "Even outside of football, life is about how you respond in certain situations and this is no different.

"We go on the road and lose a game, our first one of the year, so what are we going to do now?," Jefferson added. "I think everybody understands that it's about the next one."

Gilman added: "We'll be ready to go."

2. McConkey on a mission

McConkey had a certain look in his eye this week in the Chargers locker room.

And for good reason, too.

The second-year wide receiver is coming off perhaps the worst game of his young career, a one-catch performance for just 11 yards despite being targeted six times by Herbert.

McConkey was also credited with three drops, a rarity and probably the least expected player on the roster to do so.

"He gave me opportunities and put the ball where it needed to go," McConkey said. "I just need to make the play. I wouldn't say it was off chemistry, I just have to come down with those for sure."

So, it's safe to say McConkey is fired up to respond Sunday?

"Hell yeah. It pissed me off and I'm mad at myself more than anything," McConkey said. "I let the guys down but it's not like I'm questioning my ability. I know what I can do. I've done it over and over. I've just got to lock in."

Roman added: "Just a tough game for him but he'll bounce back. He's a great player and we have 110 percent faith in him and how he's going to bring it."

McConkey and the Bolts offense will look to get going against a veteran Washington defense that features eight starters who are at least 28 years old.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Commanders rank 32^nd in the league in team pass coverage grade at just 32.5.

"Any Dan Quinn defense, you know they're going to fly around and play hard. And that's what we see on tape," Roman said.

3. Dealing with Deebo

Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter had perhaps the quote of the week when talking about Deebo Samuel.

"I would compare him a little bit to an offensive version of Derwin [James]," Minter said.

That's high praise coming from Minter, and a clear indication that the Bolts will be locked onto Samuel on Sunday, especially with Washington wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown already ruled out.

The biggest obstacle with Samuel? Getting him to the ground.

"I played him when he was in San Francisco," Gilman said. "He's an athlete, he's hard to tackle. You got to be ready and wrap up."

Jefferson added: "You have to bring your feet with him because he's a tough tackle. He's not going to go down on arm tackles."

Minter said: "Limiting his ability to get yards after he has the ball in his hands would be critical to our success."

There's also the dilemma of knowing exactly where Samuel is going to be lined up.

According to PFF, Samuel has primarily lined up in the slot (129 snaps) this season but also has 52 snaps out wide and six in the backfield.

Samuel has 22 catches for 204 yards and two touchdowns in 2025 and has also added seven rushes for 46 yards and a score.

He also has 4,996 receiving yards and 1,180 rushing yards in his first six seasons, and can soon become just the third player in NFL history with at least 5,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in their first seven career seasons.

"He's one of those guys where, for awhile, I felt like teams were all trying to find a Deebo," Jefferson said. "He kind of created that position where he's a receiver who's built good enough to play running back and run routes. He's just dynamic."

James added: "He's a guy you have to know where he's at on the field at all times because he can take a slant, checkdown all the way to the house."

4. What's the safety rotation?

The Chargers might have the deepest safety room in the league.

And based on how the snap counts played out in Week 4, the Bolts aren't afraid to deploy all of them.

James, as usual, played every defensive snap against the Giants. Gilman was on the field for 51 of 76 snaps, good for 67 percent of the plays.

Jefferson (51 snaps) and Elijah Molden (49 snaps) essentially split the third safety role as Molden was playing in his first game since Week 1 due to a hamstring injury.

Minter was asked about that rotation on the back end earlier this week.

"It's really beneficial. I've talked about it before, guys that can help you play, that can play well, that are prepared," Minter said. "One guy playing 70 snaps versus two guys playing maybe equal."

He later added: "Just guys that can play, earned the right to play and then I think it helps everybody get through a grueling, 17-game season to be able to do that."

We'll see how the rotation shapes out this week assuming Molden's health is improved.

Either way, the Chargers feel just fine with whatever combination they roll out at safety.

"I don't think it's much of an adjustment. We're all ballers and we all can play. We all contribute in our ways," Gilman said. "We have good chemistry out there so it makes us stronger as a unit.

"We've got to lean on that and continue to get better," Gilman added. "I think it's a good thing, I think we're in a good space."

Jefferson said: "We all work together pretty well. We can all play at the same time and work off each other."

5. Respect for Tunsil

The Chargers will face one of the league's best left tackles in Week 5.

Laremy Tunsil is as consistent as they come, something Dupree knows well from their time together in the AFC South.

Tunsil was previously with the Texans, who traded him to the Commanders this offseason. Dupree used to play for the Titans.

"Man, Tunsil is one of those guys who's going to be a legend," Dupree said. "Anytime you get the opportunity to go against a guy like that, it's great.

"You see his skillset and it's just iron sharpening iron," Dupree added. "You go out and see if you can make a play on him, it means a little more."

Entering Week 5, Tunsil ranks fourth in the NFL among tackles with a PFF pass-blocking grade of 87.0.

But that's nothing new for Tunsil, who has been one of the league's best players at his position for nearly a decade.

Since 2019, Tunsil has ranked no lower than fourth in PFF pass-block grade in seasons where he's played double-digit games. That includes a stellar 2022 season in which Tunsil led the league with a 91.7 grade.

"He's got good patience and good feet. Any lineman with great feet is going to have a chance in this league," Dupree said. "He's been around and seen a lot of different moves and different games."

With Dupree primarily lining up on the right side of the Chargers defense, that means he'll get the majority of the reps against the five-time Pro Bowler.

On the other side of the defense Tuli Tuipulotu will look for another big game after his 4.0-sack performance against the Giants.

"Beast mode," Dupree said of Tuipulotu's Week 4 outing. "He's trying to be a household name."