The Bolts put together a near-dominant performance this past Sunday that showcased what Jim Harbaugh's squad is capable of.
Count The Athletic Football Show host Robert Mays and co-host Derrik Klassen as a couple of NFL pundits whose heads were turned after the Week 6 win in Denver.
The Bolts made an appearance on their Week 6 recap edition of their podcast under the "You Have My Attention" portion of the show, where they list out some of the weekly standouts from Sunday's slate of games.
It's safe to say the Bolts wire-to-wire win left the pair impressed about what the team could be moving forward.
"This seems like the type of team and this seems like the type of performance where we've got to start keeping tabs on where the Chargers are going to fit in the hierarchy in the AFC," Mays said. "[Sunday] is the first time I felt sort of comfortable believing that."
Both sides were clicking for the Bolts, as they held the Broncos to 88 yards of offense and zero points through three quarters and had a season-best 350 yards of offense in the win.
Take a look back at the Chargers Week 6 matchup with the Broncos in monochrome!
Mays cited the Bolts success on third downs, a department where they converted 11 of 18 tries, their best percentage performance (61.1) of the season as particularly impressive as Herbert shined time and again against a good Denver defense.
He singled out Herbert’s pass to Ladd McConkey on third-and-8 late in the third quarter when facing a heavy blitz as one of the plays of the game and an example of how this Chargers formula is beginning to take shape.
"When we were trying to make a case for why the Chargers could be potentially relevant as a Wild Card team … it was, 'OK, we see a difference in play style and just a different competency on defense because of that,'" Mays said. "Then you have an offensive line that you feel good about and you have Justin Herbert.
"This is the first game where I think some of the component parts of that argument started to fall into place because Herbert looks healthier," he added.
Klassen echoed Mays' sentiments, adding the differences he's noticed in this Chargers team so far that includes a very effective and dominant defense.
"The point you make about the difference in play style and difference in energy, we are certainly seeing that on the defensive side of the ball," Klassen said. "Even on the offensive side of the ball… I think they're at least trying to do the right things on offense and Herbert is looking a little bit healthier."
The pair believes that if the Bolts can continue this way of playing as the season rolls along and stack up the wins, the path is there for the Chargers to have a successful Year 1 under Harbaugh.
"If the Chargers are going to be this sneakily impressive defense and you still have Justin Herbert on the other side," Mays said. "That to me is enough for you to be a team that's worth paying attention to.
"We've mentioned this. The state of the AFC, the second tier of the AFC, it's up for grabs," Mays later continued. "If the playoffs started right now, the Chargers would be a playoff team at 3-2 and the Broncos are the sort of team they have to beat to get there."
He later added: "I think this is the sort of game, if they can continue stacking these together, that makes you really excited about what the path looks like."