The Chargers offense will look different than what we saw a year ago.
The play caller is new, as the Bolts landed Kellen Moore as their new offensive coordinator last week.
The 34-year-old Moore said he plans on implementing a few new scheme wrinkles while also sticking with what the current group of players, including quarterback Justin Herbert, does best.
"This thing, we're going to do it together," Moore said. "This isn't just dropping a playbook down from Dallas and say, 'You learn this and we'll do this.'
"There's so much good stuff that is going on here," Moore added.
The 2022 Bolts offense showcased plenty of strong moments, but also had its lulls at times, too.
Here's a look back at the 2022 offense … and ahead to the 2023 version.
3 Strong Offensive Stats in 2022:
1. Herbert's passing yards
This is a simple stat, as Herbert finished second in the league with 4,739 passing yards.
But it's a testament to the season the quarterback had, whether it was dealing with his own rib injury or having his skill position players in and out of the starting lineup on a seemingly weekly basis.
Despite all that, plus injuries along the offensive line, Herbert still took a step forward and had perhaps his best season in Year 3 as a starter.
And there's still plenty of promise and potential that remains for him, especially now that Moore (a former quarterback) is on board.
Herbert now has the most passing yards through a quarterback's first three NFL seasons. Expect those numbers to continue to rise, along with other facets of his game, too.
2. Sack percentage allowed
The Chargers gave up 40 sacks this season, which ranks 15th in the league. But their sack percentage allowed was only at 5.49 percent, which was the sixth-best total in the NFL.
Why the disparity?
The Bolts dropped back to pass a whopping 807 times in 2022, which was the second-highest total in the league. So while other teams allowed less sacks, they sometimes had a higher sack percentage given the fewer number of dropbacks.
The Chargers started six different combinations along the offense line due to injuries in 2022, with guards Matt Feiler and Zion Johnson being the only linemen to play all 17 games.
Corey Linsley was the star of this group, as he didn't allow a sack and was credited with allowing just one hit on Herbert all season.
3. Limited turnovers
The Chargers did a solid job of holding onto the ball in 2022, finishing with the fifth-fewest turnovers at 19.
That was the fewest amount in the AFC West and the second fewest in the AFC.
Herbert threw just 10 interceptions all season (tied for the seventh fewest) and the Bolts lost nine fumbles.
The game-by-game turnover margin was (unsurprisingly) a strong predictor of whether or not the Bolts would win or lose.
Over the course of this 17-game season, the Chargers won the turnover battle in seven games, going 6-1.
In the four games the Bolts lost turnover battle, they were 1-3. And in the six games it was even, the Chargers were 3-3.
Take a look back at the best photos of Justin Herbert's 2022 campaign
2 Stats That Need to Improve in 2023:
1. The running game
Let's offer a blanket statement and say that the entire rushing attack needs to improve from the 2022 performance.
According to PFF, the Bolts had an overall rushing grade of 77.9, which raked 23rd in the league. And the Chargers rushing EPA/play was 19th at minus 0.078.
But deeper look at other numbers show a unit that struggled with consistency.
The Chargers ranked 30th in both yards per game (89.6) and yards per carry (3.77), and were 29th in explosive plays with only 37.
The Bolts were also 31st with 395 rushing yards before contact and were 27th overall with just 91 first downs gained on the ground.
One of Moore's biggest tasks will be to improve this aspect of the offense.
2. Red-zone offense
The Bolts offense was a middle-of-the-pack unit when it came to red-zone touchdowns in 2022.
Overall, the group finished 17th with a touchdown percentage of 54.10, nearly a 10-point difference from the season before.
And it wasn't as if the Chargers couldn't get to the red zone. They did that plenty, as their 201 plays inside the 20-yard line were tied for the third-most in the league.
The Bolts just had a tough time finding the end zone on a consistent basis this past season.
Let's hope Moore can change that around. His recent track record is strong as Dallas had the NFL's No. 1 red-zone offense in 2022 at 71.43 percent.
