Below are three takeaways from Sunday's postgame press conferences with Brandon Staley, Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, and Dustin Hopkins following the Week 9 game against Philadelphia.
Keenan connection
Keenan Allen and Justin Herbert's connection was on full display Sunday in the Chargers' 27-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Allen chipped away at the Eagles secondary for 104 receiving yards on the day and put up the 30th 100-yard receiving game of his career. He finished the game just three yards shy of hitting 8,000 career receiving yards.
After Sunday's win, head coach Brandon Staley talked about how Allen set the example during practice last week and how important a receiver of his caliber is to Justin Herbert and the Chargers as a whole.
"He came up big for us in so many different situations," Staley said. "His play today got Justin Herbert in a really good rhythm, because Justin knows that he's the guy that he can go to get himself on schedule. I felt like we had good design, and then Keenan just does what he always does. He was clutch for us today."
Herbert, had a day of his own throwing for 356 yards and scored three total touchdowns, but after the game, discussed the performance Allen put together and his dependability on games days.
"I thought he was incredible," Herbert said. "You know, he's one of those guys you go to on third down and all season long, he's been super dependable. He's had such a great work ethic the past couple of weeks and it shows out there on the field."
Offensive line "won the day for us"
After the game, Staley had high praise for the entire offensive line and talked about how their efforts were a big part of getting Herbert's timing back. Staley explained how that group 'won the day for us' with their performance.
"Our offensive line played a very, very good football game today," Staley said. "This was a line of scrimmage game and our offensive line competed at a really, really high level … They were outstanding."
Herbert, who was able to bounce back after the last two weeks, talked about how big of a role the offensive line was towards the team's success on Sunday.
"We had a great protection plan," Herbert said. "Those guys [Chargers T] Storm [Norton], [Chargers C] Corey [Linsley], [Chargers G] Matt [Feiler], [Chargers T] Rashawn [Slater], all those guys did a great job blocking. So when we're able to run the ball and throw the ball and have enough time for the guys on the outside of the ball, [Chargers G/T] Mike [Schofield III], [Chargers TE] Jared [Cook] all those guys are there to make plays. It makes our offense a lot easier."
Allen also commented on how he thought the offensive line played, specifically, how well they blocked two of the biggest weapons on the Eagles' pass rush.
"[They played] outstanding; 91 [DT Fletcher Cox] and 97 [DT Javon Hargrave] those guys are monsters," Allen said. "I thought we slowed them down for the most part ... I mean obviously they are going to make plays too, but they did a great job."
Hopkins' final kick was clutch
In just his second game in a Bolts uniform, kicker Dustin Hopkins was faced with the task of hitting a game-winning field goal. Hopkins, who had experience with kicking in Philadelphia when he played for the Eagles' NFC East rival Washington Football Team, talked about hitting the game winner for his new team and after the game, credited his teammates for their assistance.
"The o-line blocking, so obviously I couldn't do it without them, and then Matt [Overton] and Ty [Long] obviously with a snap and hold that was awesome," Hopkins said. "Then for guys picking me up when I didn't do as good a job earlier when I should [have.] Just how supportive guys were even honestly without knowing some of them."
Hopkins, who missed an extra point in the third quarter of Sunday's game, discussed having the opportunity to go back on the field and redeem himself despite facing the pressure of late-game kicks.
"I guess sometimes you feel a little adrenaline and you just tell yourself, 'Man, I'm getting ready to do something with this that otherwise, my body wouldn't have been able to do,'" he said. "It's kind of a cool feeling that you could potentially be your very best in that moment. Also, after an opportunity that you didn't capitalize on early, it's kind of like you want that again, so it was nice to have the opportunity."
The kick resonated with Hopkins' teammates as Allen said there's "nothing better" than a walk-off field goal.
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