Welcome back to the Chargers Mailbag!
We'll be running one of these every week during the regular season, so send in submissions for the Mailbag here on Twitter or by sending me an email.
Off we go...
A timely question from Ed, as I actually asked Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh about this Monday.
With the Bolts sitting at 8-4, how are they approaching the final month of the season?
"It'd be great if somebody else doesn't win, but you can't count on that," Harbaugh said. "It's something you don't count on.
"You've got to win the games yourselves. That's what you have to do," Harbaugh added. "Can't really spend any energy hoping a team messes up."
This is why Sunday's win in Atlanta was so crucial. The Chargers picked up their eighth win and might need to only win one more game to get in. It feels like two more wins will make the Bolts a lock.
Let's take a look at where the Chargers stand in the AFC playoff race right now.
The Bolts are in the No. 5 seed and have above a 93-percent chance to get in. If the Bolts get to 10 wins, they are likely assured of a spot.
The Ravens and Broncos are both 8-5 and have a bye in Week 14.
After that, you have the Colts (6-7), Dolphins (5-7) and Bengals (4-9) as the next three contenders.
Indianapolis and Miami can only reach a max of 10 wins. And while the Chargers don't play either team this year, the next tiebreaker is conference record. The Bolts (5-3) currently have better records against AFC teams that the Colts (5-4) and Dolphins (4-4).
All of this is to say the Chargers simply need to handle their own business in the next month and control their own destiny rather than relying on everyone else.
Harbaugh said it best on Monday.
"We're fighting for our playoff lives.," Harbaugh said.
One final thing to add here.
The Chargers are longshots for the AFC West as Kansas City can claim the division with a win Sunday.
But you can bet the Bolts want to make a statement — for this season and beyond — with a win in primetime at Arrowhead.
Hi Eric, what is the status on Brenden Rice? Will he make a debut this season? What is your take on how he will impact the Chargers offense? (Edwin via email)
We'll combine these wide receiver questions from Edwin and Jenson into one segment.
First, an update on Brenden Rice, a rookie who was placed on Injured Reserve on November 2 with a shoulder injury. It should be noted that Rice has already made his NFL debut back in Week 3 against Pittsburgh on special teams.
Rice is eligible to return to practice now that he's missed the required four games so we'll see if he does so this week.
In terms of him helping the offense, we can only go by what he showed before going on IR, which was only three total snaps in the three games he was active.
Rice is still a player the Chargers like long term, but it remains to be seen how much he'll help out in 2024.
As for Chark, he was active Sunday in Atlanta but only played two snaps.
Harbaugh was asked extensively about Chark on Monday and gave pretty fair answers about why the wide receiver wasn't playing more.
The crux of it, Harbaugh said, was that other receivers on the roster have earned more playing time.
"It's just a matter of being better than somebody else," Harbaugh said. "I can't say it any more plainly or clearly."
He also added: "Simple. No underlying meanings. It is what it is. It's a meritocracy out there."
Harbaugh did note that Chark's unfortunate injury that he sustained in training camp set him back a bit.
"There was a lot of weeks where he wasn't practicing," Harbaugh said of Chark. "There's an ascension, there's a getting back in and proving that."
We'll see if Chark is active Sunday night against the Chiefs. But based on what Harbaugh said earlier this week, it sounds as if the Bolts will roll with other players on the field for now.
Maybe. But based on what the Chargers have deployed of late, it seems as if Salyer is the right guard only in certain packages.
Salyer started at right guard in Week 10 against the Titans when Pipkins missed the game due to an injury.
Since then, Salyer has primarily been used in goal line and short-yardage situations. He played four snaps against the Bengals and then two snaps apiece against the Ravens and Falcons.
My guess is that rotation continues going forward. And if they need up Salyer to play more, he's shown to be a more-than-capable NFL offensive lineman.
No unit is going to be perfect all season long.
Derwin James put it perfectly after Sunday's win in Atlanta when he noted the Chargers offense scored 34 points and got the job done against the Bengals.
Sunday's game against the Falcons was the defense's turn to lead the way.
As for the run game, I actually thought the run game centered around the running backs was solid.
Gus Edwards had 32 yards on just six carries while Kimani Vidal rushed for 20 yards on four attempts. Put them together and that's 52 yards on just 10 attempts, good for 5.2 yards per pop.
The problem for the Chargers was that the offense couldn't sustain many drives and get to the run game enough in the second half.
If we look at time of possession, the Chargers held the ball for less than nine minutes in the second half on Sunday. The Falcons, meanwhile, possessed the ball for nearly 22 minutes.
That's usually not a successful formula, so credit the Bolts defense for coming up clutch despite being on the field quite a bit.
NFL teams, including the Bolts, talk all the time about playing complementary football between offense, defense and special teams.
That also applies to a specific unit, too, especially on offense with the run and the pass.
Going forward, Chargers players and coaches know they need more consistency from the offense.
I do expect Tony Jefferson to be a key piece of the puzzle down the stretch.
With Alohi Gilman on Injured Reserve and sidelined for at least the next three games due to a hamstring injury, Jefferson should keep the starting role his had in Atlanta next to Elijah Molden.
This, of course, moves James to certain nickel and dime packages when the Chargers have extra defensive backs on the field.
And it's crucial the Bolts allow James to play those roles as he showed his disruptiveness near the line of scrimmage on a pair of third-and-1 run stops against the Falcons.
The Chargers have relied on their depth often this season, and Jefferson is another shining example of players and coaches stepping up when it matters most.
Harbaugh gave a well-deserved shoutout to Jefferson postgame.
"Tony's been great for us, happy to get Tony out there," Harbaugh said. "Been chomping at the bit to get Tony Jefferson out there and play. No one's more happy than he was in the locker room – what he did in the preseason, the instincts he shows, and he shows it every day in practice, as a look team player.
"He frustrates the heck out of me and Justin [Herbert] in practice with the things he does, and jumps routes and like, man, now he can do that to opposing defenses, - really, really fired up about it," Harbaugh added. "Such a great teammate, such a great pro. So, it was great to have him out."
