The Chargers eased past the Panthers with a 26-3 road win on Sunday.

The Bolts are now 2-0 on the young season under Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.

Here are five takeaways from Week 2:

1. A dominant win

Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said it best in his postgame speech.

"That's how you take care of business."

The Chargers rolled into Carolina and did exactly that on Sunday, slamming their foot on the gas pedal early and never letting up as they cruised to a 26-3 road win over the Panthers.

The Bolts built a 20-point lead at halftime and kept things moving from there against a Panthers team that lost 47-10 in Week 1.

"Just seeing what the Saints did to them last week, they got to them early," Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton said. "That's the message we want to send every week: start fast and finish faster."

Safety Elijah Molden added: "We're in the NFL and every team is capable of winning. But we wanted to get on them early and let them know our brand of football. I think we did that."

The Chargers dominated in all facets Sunday, outgaining the Panthers by a total of 349 to 159.

Offensively, the Bolts rushed for 200-plus yards and have now rushed for nearly 400 yards in two games.

Defensively, the Chargers clamped down on Bryce Young and Co., limited them to just 54 yards of offense in the first half.

"It was really great half, great team play, great effort again," Harbaugh said of the opening 30 minutes.

He later added: "Just came out ready, came out hitting on all cylinders. Very impressive, really happy that the guys attacked what it's in front of them, the task in front of them."

By the end of Sunday's game, the Bolts had swapped out multiple starters for younger players and clearly savored their first road win of the 2024 season.

And for the first time since 2012, the Chargers have started 2-0 with a road date in Pittsburgh looming in Week 3.

"You can't be 2-0 without being 1-0 and you can't be 1-0 without winning the first one," said quarterback Justin Herbert. "That's the way it's been. I think guys really take a joy in playing, they go out there, have a lot of fun ... as long as everybody is enjoying it, playing fast, I think we can play some pretty good football."

Derwin James, Jr. added: "It was definitely a dominating win for us. But there's still stuff we can get better at. Now we need to come out and be ready for Pittsburgh."

2. Defense shines in Carolina

NFL players don't have time to check stats during the game.

But the Bolts defense was plenty intrigued to know what the final third-down numbers were Sunday in the postgame locker room.

"What did they go?" Molden asked.

The Panthers converted just one of 12 tries on third down and actually came on short on their first nine tries Sunday.

"Man, I didn't know that," Fulton said.

Overall, it was a simply dominating effort from a Bolts defense that forced four straight three-and-outs and then tallied an interception on Carolina's first five drives.

Both of the Chargers sacks — from Denzel Perryman and Joey Bosa — came on third down. And the Bolts harassed Young into completing just four of nine passes on the day for 12 yards, good for just 1.33 yards per attempt.

"We know he's a quarterback that has trouble seeing so we wanted to give him different looks," Fulton said of Young. "Just switch it up and put him in situations where he had to make the perfect throw."

Molden also mentioned "mixing up the coverages" while Daiyan Henley preached the importance of playing as a unit.

"It was the communication before everything got moving," Henley said. "We talked through it pre and post-snap and that's what you saw, a connected defense."

Carolina averaged nearly 6.5 yards to go on third down Sunday, exactly what James said the defense had in mind.

"Trying to get them in third-and-5 plus, you know? We weren't trying to be in third-and-1 or third-and-2," James said.

And, a week after Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter's group allowed the Raiders offense to run just one play in the red zone, the Panthers also ran just a single play at the 20-yard line in Week 2.

By the way, the meager 159 total yards allowed by the Chargers defense Sunday was the fewest amount since a 2018 home win that saw Arizona gained 149 total yards.

"Just played lights out defensively," Harbaugh said. "Timely sacks, timely plays, timely PBUs, great calls by Jesse Minter coming in those situational football."

Molden added: "Coach Minter has got a great game plan and I love playing for him."

3. Dobbins with historic rushing day

The Chargers are in their 65th season of existence ... and no player had ever ran for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games to start the season.

Well, until Sunday.

J.K. Dobbins chewed through Carolina's defense for 131 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries and made some history in the process. Dobbins ran for 135 yards in the Week 1 win over the Raiders.

Harbaugh made sure to note the milestone in his postgame press conference.

"It hasn't been done ever with the Chargers," Harbaugh said.

And it hadn't been done by an AFC running back since Houston's Arian Foster in 2014.

Dobbins' highlight play came on a 43-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. It marked Dobbins' third rush of 40-plus yards already this season but his first score on such a long run.

"I saw the opening and I took it," Dobbins said. "Last week I got caught, wasn't letting that happen this week. I'm not going to let it happen again."

But what made the touchdown even sweeter — besides his flip into the end zone — was that fellow running back Gus Edwards lined up at fullback and made a key block to spring his teammate.

"That's my guy. I went back and told him that was because of him," Dobbins said. "Love this team, I'm a team player. I just want to win the game. That's all I want to do.

"If I get one yard or 200 yards, win the game, that's all I want to do," Dobbins added.

Through two games, Dobbins has ran for 266 yards and a pair of scores. He's the first Bolts running back with consecutive 130-yard games since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2007.

"He's a special player. We knew that he was going to go up, something special was going to happen," Herbert said. "He's awesome, great teammate, great leader, he's a guy that speaks in the locker room and everyone respects him.

"He works hard, he does everything the right way on and off the field," Herbert added. "We're not surprised by his success, we knew how special he was."

4. Molden settling in at safety

Molden made his first start with the Bolts in Week 2, filling in at safety due to Alohi Gilman missing the game because of a knee injury.

Molden, acquired in an August 28 trade with Tennessee for a 2026 seventh-round pick, has settled in quite nicely with the Bolts.

"Elijah Molden, tip my hat off to [Chargers General Manager] Joe Hortiz and [Chargers Assistant General Manager] Chad Alexander and the whole pro personnel department for finding Elijah for us," Harbaugh said. "He's come in and been a great addition.

"So quick he's added into the team and knowing what to do first of all, in about a week, two-week timeframe is commendable in itself," Harbaugh added. "The way he's played, he's tackled, had the huge interception today, phenomenal."

Molden had the aforementioned interception on Carolina's fifth drive of the game, perfectly reading Young's eyes before crashing down to snag the takeaway.

Molden explained what he saw on the play.

"We repped it all week in practice and it felt like practice," Molden said. "A look I knew from their offense and what they wanted to do. As soon as I read the stem, I broke on it."

Molden, who received a game ball in the postgame locker room, said he feels at home with the Bolts.

"It's a special group … I'm just having a lot of fun," Molden said. "I think I've been here two weeks so I've been all in the playbook and I feel like I'm able to play free now."

Fulton, Molden's former teammate with the Titans, said he's not surprised by his success.

"I knew Elijah was a baller. We played together in Tennessee," Fulton said. "Just excited to see him play free and back having fun. Just the communication from all seven on the back end allows us to play free and play fast."

5. Herbert fine with balance

You know it was a full team effort when the Chargers win by 23 points and Herbert has barely been mentioned here.

That's just fine with the Bolts franchise quarterback.

Herbert completed 14 of 20 passes for 130 yards with a pair of touchdowns to Quentin Johnston in Carolina.

Through two games, Hebert has thrown for 274 total yards, a number he might have compiled in one game in previous seasons.

Instead, the Bolts are 2-0 while relying on a dominant run game.

"It's a little different," Herbert said. "It's definitely super helpful just going out there and knowing you can hand the ball to J.K. and Gus and they're going to go fight for every yard.

"It's a great offensive line that battles play in and play out," Herbert added. "We believe in those guys big time, so when we take those shots, take what the defense gives us, especially in the passing game, I think it's only going to help us."

There will come a time when the Chargers likely need Herbert to put on his cape and lead them to a win through the air.

But with the Chargers sitting at 2-0, the vibes are high. And all that matters is getting a victory each Sunday.

"We're going to lean on both, and whatever we think can work," Harbaugh said. "There's going to be opposing wills every single game, every single week. The margin is credit card thin."

Center Bradley Bozeman added: "You can feel our identity, see our identity. It's starting to form, for sure. But like I said before, we'll do whatever the hell we have to do to make sure things work right. Pass it 60 times, run it 60 times, do 60 screens, 60 draws … whatever it has to be, we'll make it work."