The Bolts bounced back in a big way in Week 8.
Despite a sluggish start, the Chargers used a 17-3 second-half run to cruise past the Saints and move to 4-3 on the year.
Justin Herbert and the offense was clicking, while the defense allowed just two field goals on the afternoon, yet another display of complementary football.
The win caught the attention of CBS Sports' John Breech, who handed the Bolts an ‘A- grade’ for the performance.
Breech wrote:
The Chargers defense surrendered the fewest points in the NFL through the first seven weeks and that won't be changing after this impressive performance against New Orleans. Khalil Mack and Bud Dupree led a defensive unit that sacked the Saints a total of five times while also keeping New Orleans out of the end zone. The offense wasn't pretty, but Justin Herbert did more than enough to carry the Chargers to the win. Ladd McConkey came up with the play of the day when he caught a 60-yard TD from Justin Herbert that essentially iced the win. The Chargers won't wow you, but they have a strong defense and a steady offense, which is a key to winning games late in the season.
The Chargers defense is currently allowing the fewest points per game (13.0) in the NFL entering Monday Night Football and sacked a pair of Saints quarterbacks a total of five times on Sunday.
But one of NFL.com's Nick Shook’s takeaways from the Week 8's win came on the offensive side, as Herbert put together a third consecutive impressive performance.
Get an inside look at the postgame celebration from the Bolts 26-8 win over the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium.
Shook wrote:
Justin Herbert is heating up. Herbert put together his best game of 2024 in a losing effort last week, offering a sign he might be turning the corner after a slow start. That sign proved to be accurate, as Herbert let it fly all afternoon in Inglewood, Calif., finishing with a 20-for-32, 279-yard, two-touchdown line worthy of a 111.3 passer rating… Herbert made some money on the ground, too, picking up 49 yards on four attempts. Herbert found McConkey for another great connection in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass that put away the game and invigorated the quarterback, who nodded his head with a level of swagger we haven't seen from him in over a year. Unlike last week, the Chargers capitalized on their quarterback's success in a two-score win, and for perhaps the first time this season, Los Angeles' offense got into a rhythm without relying on the running game to carry them.
It was a big offensive day through the air, specifically for the receivers as Shook mentioned.
McConkey had his best day as a pro going for 111 yards on six catches and a pair of touchdowns. Meanwhile Joshua Palmer had his best day of 2024 so far with 72 receiving yards.
Under the prompt of describing the game in two words, ESPN's Kris Rhim highlighted the work from the receiving room having a bounce back performance.
Rhim wrote:
Receiver redemption. After last week's loss to the Cardinals, Chargers receivers gathered in the locker room and discussed being more consistent. Joshua Palmer called their performance "unacceptable," and McConkey said "it sucks," but they vowed to be better. They responded with season highs in receiving yards for McConkey (111) and Palmer (72).
