Welcome back to the Chargers Mailbag!
We'll run a Mailbag each week during the regular season. Send in submissions for the Mailbag on Twitter @EricLSmith or by email at eric.smith@chargers.nfl.com.
Off we go...
After seeing the Chargers Week 1 performance, has anything changed about how you see the season playing out? Do you feel that the Chargers have a better chance to win the division and maybe going farther in the playoffs? (Edwin via email)
Edwin kicks us off with a great question after the Chargers started 1-0 in Brazil.
As Week 2 approaches, the vibes are high around The Bolt after a wire-to-wire win over the Chiefs in Week 1.
But did the win in São Paulo actually change my perception of the Bolts?
Not really, and here's why.
Even before the season started, I thought the Chargers were a serious AFC playoff contender that could make a deep run if things lined up for them in January.
Friday's win doesn't change much other than to give me even more belief that the Bolts can do some serious damage in the playoffs if they play as soundly as they did against the Chiefs.
To me, the biggest reason why the Chargers won is that they made more plays in the fourth quarter, a formula that is usually going to get you a win more often than not in the NFL. And it's a formula the Chiefs have seemingly perfected in recent years, meaning it was pretty meaningful that the Bolts flipped the script on them in Week 1.
However, from a 30,000-foot view, I'll say that Friday night's win does give the Chargers a better chance to win the AFC West and make the postseason.
Players and coaches talked adamantly after the game how the win was just one game and that there are 16 more to go.
Which is true, to be sure. But starting Week 1, especially when that win is over the Chiefs, undoubtedly adds some juice to the locker room.
Will the Bolts win the AFC West? Who knows ... there's still plenty of work to be done.
But the obvious answer here is that they've put themselves in a much better spot than if they had left São Paulo with a loss.
Greg Roman's brilliant play calling in Week 1 was among the top storylines that came out of the game.
But the Chargers Offensive Coordinator, who is known for loving a punishing run game, leaned heavy into the pass against the Chiefs.
Mike Sando of The Athletic had a great detailed breakdown about Roman in his Monday column, noting that his historic preference to run the ball seems to have swayed a bit.
According to data compiled by Sando, the Bolts threw the ball 15 times on 20 chances (75 percent) when it was either first or second down in the first 28 minutes of the game.
But that trend apparently isn't new as the Chargers rank second in the league at that stat (63 percent) since Week 11 of last season.
The simplest way to explain it is that Roman is putting the ball in Justin Herbert's hands and letting him dictate the early stages of the game.
It's a pretty smart strategy considering that Herbert is probably the best player on the field for either team on most game days.
But again, it also goes against what Roman has generally preached and called in his previous stops as an NFL offensive coordinator.
I think that Roman deserves credit for adjusting and evolving, especially since he uses the latter term nearly every time he's at the podium for his weekly press conference.
He'll say some version of how "the offense will continue to evolve" and note that the Week 1 version of the Bolts offense won't be what we see in Week 12 or whatever it may be.
Roman stuck by those words in Week 1 by unleashing a bit of a new-look Chargers offense to the tune of 394 total yards and a season-opening win.
"G-Ro's had some great games as a playcaller, as a game planner, as an offensive coordinator," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday. "I would put this one at the very top. Maybe none better than this one.
"Some of the same plane as this game, but none higher," Harbaugh added. "I thought it was just a great performance and play calls."
My good buddy Eric Smith (no relation) with a solid submission here.
This was also something I noticed Friday in Brazil as the Chiefs constantly kicked away from a dangerous Derius Davis in the return game.
Haskins, as Eric mentions above, had all three returns for 67 total yards while Davis had a goose egg in the return column.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith would make sense as the next option back there considering he's listed behind Davis and Haskins on the Chargers depth chart.
You can bet Ficken is well aware of what happens and has a plan to counter that Monday night in Las Vegas. Perhaps it's more of a scheme adjustment rather than a personnel change.
Ladd McConkey was open on nearly every play? Shocking!
I'm kidding.
Those of us who watched McConkey tear it up in camp know that he's primed for a big season in Year 2.
Sure enough, he got off to a strong start in Week 1 with six catches for 74 yards, showcasing his usual athleticism and elusiveness that had the Chiefs secondary stumbling trying to keep up.
And it's worth noting that McConkey's night could have been even bigger if he and Herbert were able to connect on that pass down the right sideline late in the second quarter.
But even though McConkey didn't score, his presence opened up space for Quentin Johnston (five catches for 79 yards and two scores) and Keenan Allen (seven catches for 68 yards and a touchdown).
The group was a three-headed monster against the Chiefs while combining for 18 catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns.
If they can be that consistent each week, the Bolts are going to be a dangerous team to face through the air.
One final note on McConkey: my favorite play of his from Week 1 wasn't a catch but rather a block he had to spring Johnston for an extra 20 yards early in the first quarter.
That's the kind of commitment and selflessness that great teams have and McConkey is a shining example of that.
Khalil Mack against the Raiders is one of the best bits in all of football.
Because the Chargers outside linebacker usually saves his best for when the Silver and Black are on the opposing sideline.
I crunched some of Mack's career numbers and it turns out the most sacks he has against an opponent is 13 against the Broncos. But he's also played 15 career games against Denver, which makes sense considering Mack has played for both the Chargers and Raiders in his career.
But the next team on that list is in fact the Raiders at 11.5 sacks in just eight games. It shouldn't surprise you that Mack's ratio of 1.44 sacks per game against the Raiders is his highest mark against any team.
Sure, some of this data is skewed by his historic 6.0-sack performance back in 2023 at SoFi Stadium. But the man had a half-dozen sacks in one game so miss me with all that talk.
Personally, I can't wait to see what Mack has in store for the Raiders on Monday Night Football. And the prediction here is that he gets to Geno Smith at least once in primetime.
