Washington Football Team: 3 key matchups to watch vs Chargers
By Jerry Trotta
1.Washington’s DL vs Chargers OL
This might seem like a no-brainer given the Football Team was built to win in the defensive trenches, but hear us out for a minute.
After being a weakness for several years, the Chargers, showing they want to properly build around Justin Herbert, finally overhauled their offensive line this offseason. Believe it or not Los Angeles will have five (!) new starters on the OL in 2021, the most notable of whom are Corey Linsley at center, Bryan Bulaga at right tackle and first-round pick Christian Darrisaw at left tackle.
Is it a world-beater? Too early to tell, but probably not. However, it’s more than serviceable, and we’re are intrigued to see how Washington’s DL fares against it. If Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne get busy, well, that could spell a long day at the office for Herbert.
Rivera said Washington liked Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert coming out of the draft and got a chance to meet with him: "He's got a tremendous arm."
— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) September 6, 2021
No regrets on picking Chase Young, however.
As we saw in his rookie season, Herbert will pick apart any defense that gives him a clean pocket. Even with a bottom-tier offensive line, he completed 66.6% of his passes for 4,336 yards and 31 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions.
The 23-year-old is one of the most promising young QBs the NFL has to offer, so the battle in the trenches, which will determine how much time he has to throw, will go long way in terms of determining the winner of this inter-conference showdown.
Given that the Chargers’ offensive line has zero previous experience playing together — save Linsley and Bulaga, who were teammates in Green Bay for seven seasons — we’re betting on Washington’s DL to come out on top.