Here Are The 3 Most Impressive Chargers Stats Entering Week 5

Oct 03, 2023 at 11:30 AM

Eric Smith

Editorial Director

The Bolts are 2-2 and have won two straight games as they head into a Week 5 bye.

Here are three key Chargers stats ahead of Week 5:

1. Khalil Mack's dominance

How impressive was Khalil Mack's 6-sack performance Sunday?

The Bolts outside linebacker's half-dozen sacks from Week 4 are more than the Falcons (five), Giants (four) and Bears (two) have as respective teams through four games.

Mack set a Chargers single-game record and also hit a career best in sacks for a single game. He just missed tying the single-game sack record of seven set by Derrick Thomas.

"There are very few who are capable of that type of performance, but he's certainly one of them," said Chargers Head Coach Brandon Staley. "He was part of history, both NFL and the Chargers."

Staley said Monday that Mack's Week 4 performance was a crescendo of him nearly getting to opposing quarterbacks in the first three games.

Mack didn't have a sack from Weeks 1-3 but put it all together against the Raiders.

Entering the bye, a handful of stats show just how good Mack has been in the first month of the season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Mack ranks fifth in the NFL in pass rush productivity and is tied for ninth with 12 hurries among players with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps.

Mack is also seventh overall in total pressures generates with 21. That stat is a culmination of a player's sacks, hits and hurries this season.

2. Strong 3rd-down defense

The Bolts third-down defense got lost in the shuffle a bit after Sunday's win.

But the unit smothered the Raiders on that down, limiting Las Vegas to just one conversion on 11 tries in Week 4.

"Rush and coverage. Mixed it up. Played with the right variety. Just guys playing together," Staley said. "Playing the scheme right, making sure we took care of their threats on third down and attacked the protection. I thought the guys played together well on that down."

The Raiders constantly faced third-and-long as they averaged third-and-9 for the game. That was due to the Chargers success on early downs, which caused Las Vegas to face third-and-6 or longer seven different times.

"That's the whole key," Staley said. "Just being able to get into a rhythm where you can rush and you can get those third-and-6, 7-pluses.

"When you can kind of get into that rhythm, you can mix it up. The rush has come alive," Staley added. "I think we've rushed the passer really well the last three weeks. We need to continue to build on it."

Through four weeks, the Bolts have the NFL's 6th-best defense on 3rd down (31.9 percent).

3. Justin Herbert = elite

The Bolts bye week comes at a good time as multiple starters are dealing with injuries.

That includes Herbert, who fractured a finger on his non-throwing hand Sunday.

Through four games, Herbert ranks fifth in the NFL with 1,106 passing yards and has a 7:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

The advanced metrics also note how special he's been early on.

Herbert ranks eighth among all quarterbacks at 0.178 EPA per play. His average depth of target (ADOT) is third at 9.1, meaning he's pushing the ball down the field in Kellen Moore's offense.

And he has top-10 PFF grades among quarterbacks in overall offensive grade, passing grade and rushing grade. He's also seventh among quarterbacks with 10 scrambles.

Herbert has likely been the Chargers MVP through four games. And while Sunday's overall offensive performance was up and down, a full season of Herbert playing at this level could put him in the MVP discussion in December and January.