The Chargers are down to their final preseason game, and this one matters a little differently than the others. With roster cutdown day and the regular-season opener right around the corner, the spotlight isn’t just on the bubble players anymore. It’s on the starting group, too.
Jim Harbaugh said the Chargers’ starters will get roughly 6-9 plays against the Rams, framing it as a matter of snaps rather than drives. That should give the team’s new coordinators, Mike McDaniel and Chris O'Leary, one last look at their top pieces before the games start counting for real.
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh on drives for starters vs. Rams:“More a matter of plays to me. Somewhere in 6-8 range, 6-9 kind of a range.” pic.twitter.com/L6McL4jFPw
There’s also a clear area the Chargers need to clean up before the preseason ends: the run game. Across the last few preseason outings, the Bolts have been pushed around on the ground, and that showed up again even when the starting group was on the field for just three snaps, including one run. For a team built around Harbaugh and McDaniel, both known for run-first ideas, that kind of physical setback doesn’t fit.
That’s why Omarion Hampton should be part of the story on Thursday night. The expectation is that the Chargers will try to bring more force and edge in their last preseason run.
On defense, Chris O'Leary’s group has kept things pretty basic so far. That isn’t unusual this time of year, and there’s no reason to expect a wholesale change now. Still, there should be some subtle tightening: smaller zones, stickier man coverage, and a little more detail in how the starters handle the Rams.
The most anticipated part of the night remains Justin Herbert. The Herbert-McDaniel pairing has been one of the offseason’s biggest talking points, and now it finally gets its first real look, even if the sample will be brief. Both teams are expected to roll out some starters early in the game, giving Herbert his first live test under the new setup.
Against the 49ers, Herbert threw two passes, completing one bootleg throw to Charlie Kolar and missing a deep shot to Ladd McConkey. This week, McDaniel is expected to dial up easier throws for Herbert, the kind that can help show whether his footwork has truly changed and whether his grasp of the offense is where it needs to be heading into the regular season.
In Other News...
Chargers Fringe Players Face One Last Shot To Survive Cutdown Day
With cutdown day approaching, the Chargers still have a handful of fringe roster battles hanging in the balance, and the preseason has given several players one last chance to make their case. Jacob Spomer, Amar Johnson, Andre Carter II, Junior Colson, TeRah Edwards and Greg Desrosiers Jr. have all been trying to turn limited opportunities into something more meaningful, whether that means a spot on the 53-man roster or a path to the practice squad.
For a team sorting through injuries and crowded position groups, those late-August evaluations matter as much as anything that happened earlier in camp. The Chargers are not just judging production in a vacuum, either, since special teams value, depth needs and positional fit all factor into the final call, leaving a few players squarely on the edge as the deadline closes in. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Special Teams Breakdown Put JK Scott Under The Spotlight
The Chargers had one of those preseason moments on special teams that can linger long after the snap, when a coverage lapse turned into an 83-yard punt return touchdown against the 49ers. Special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken dug into the play afterward and made clear the problem was not a single bad bounce or one isolated miss, but a unit-wide failure to do the job on the coverage side.
JK Scott still found himself in the middle of the discussion, since Ficken said the punter should have helped finish the play and was disappointed he did not make the tackle. Even so, the emphasis was on how the coverage lost contain and opened the door for the return, a reminder that the Chargers third phase is still sorting out its details before the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Have One Last Chance To Build Momentum Against The Rams
The final preseason tuneup against the Rams gives the Chargers one more shot to carry some momentum into the real thing, even if most of the familiar names are likely to be off the field quickly. Both teams have already shown their hand this month, with Los Angeles on the other side of the city winning its first two preseason games while the Chargers have split theirs, and the matchup also serves as a reminder that the clubs will see plenty more of each other when the regular season arrives on Nov. 1, 2026.
There is still enough intrigue to make this one worth watching, especially with the Rams getting strong early returns from first-round pick Ty Simpson in exhibition play. For the Chargers, though, the bigger question is how much they can glean from a game in which both coaching staffs have signaled a light workload for starters, leaving the spotlight on depth players trying to make one last impression before the preseason closes. [Read more 🡒]