Trey Lance shines and other takeaways from Chargers’ Hall of Fame Game win over Lions

Sports

The Los Angeles Chargers opened the preseason Thursday night with a 34-7 win over the Detroit Lions at the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

Most of the Chargers starters did not play, including quarterback Justin Herbert, safety Derwin James Jr. and edge rusher Khalil Mack. So, this was an opportunity game for players vying for 53-man roster spots and roles on the 2025 team.

Here are three takeaways.

Trey Lance shines, heating up QB2 battle

Lance got the start at quarterback and played a solid game. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He did not turn the ball over and only took one sack.

Coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman deserve a lot of credit for putting together a structured game plan for Lance. Roman called a lot of play action. On some of those calls, the Chargers got Lance moving outside the pocket, utilizing his athleticism and consolidating his reads.

One of Lance’s best throws of the game — the opening touchdown to Will Dissly — came on a bootleg to the right. Lance layered the ball delicately over Lions safety Loren Strickland.

Lance played within himself. He mitigated risk and found his checkdowns when they were open. On some of these checkdowns, Lance had chances to push the ball downfield to other pass catchers.

The first play of the second drive was a good example. Tight end Oronde Gadsden was coming open on an out route in between two zone defenders. Running back Jaret Patterson, though, was uncovered in the flat. Lance hit him for a gain of 6 yards. Easy completion. Smart quarterbacking. Harbaugh and Roman have made avoiding turnovers a priority with their quarterbacks. Lance has taken to that coaching point.

Lance still pushed the ball downfield at times. He hit rookie receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith on a go ball down the right sideline for a 28-yard gain in the first quarter, the Chargers’ longest offensive play of the day. Lambert-Smith was one-on-one on the outside against cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Lambert-Smith showed off some shiftiness at the line of scrimmage and won his release to the outside. Lance hit him in stride with an accurate ball.

Lance went back to Lambert-Smith for his second touchdown. Lambert-Smith again showed off his refined releases with a clean win to the inside on a slant route. Lance was seeing the field well. The Chargers certainly created a structure around him. His two throws to Lambert-Smith, though, both came on true dropbacks. Lance was just as good in these situations as he was in the play-action game.

Through 11 training camp practices, Lance had consistently been the second quarterback rotating in after Herbert in team drills, ahead of Taylor Heinicke.

With this performance, Lance has continued this trajectory, and he has a very good chance of being Herbert’s backup this season. Heinicke did not play in the game. Harbaugh said earlier this week that Heinicke will get his chance in the second game of the preseason, at home against the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 10.

Johnson started at center and played his first NFL game reps at the position. There were some snap issues on the first drive. He had a high snap on the third offensive play of the game that Lance was able to handle before handing off to rookie running back Omarion Hampton. Johnson and Lance then botched an exchange from under center on the fourth play of the game.

After those plays, though, Johnson settled in and had some encouraging moments. He was getting consistent movement in the running game, climbing to the second level at times. Most importantly, he had a crucial blitz pickup on the long completion from Lance to Lambert-Smith.

Lance was in the shotgun. Johnson snapped before standing up Lions defensive lineman Chris Smith in pass protection. As Johnson shuffled right to keep engaging Smith, Lions linebacker Grant Stuard twisted back to the inside on a blitz up the middle. Johnson recognized it immediately. He passed Smith off to right guard Jamaree Salyer, then reset and walled off Stuart with a strong base in his lower half. Lance was kept clean and had time and space to throw the pinpoint ball to Lambert-Smith.

Johnson has struggled in his career to identify stunts and blitzes on the interior. The Chargers hoped that a move to center would help Johnson improve in this area. This play was a massive step for Johnson. The snap issues are an issue. Those have been happening in practice, as well. However, Johnson showed enough in this game to continue working at center.

Reed, a rookie cornerback, was the player of the game for the defense. He had a pass breakup on a second and 18 on the first drive of the game, jarring the ball loose from receiver Dominic Lovett.

Reed has great instincts and timing in coverage. He knows when to break and is strong and disruptive when attacking the ball. On this play, Lovett made the initial catch, but Reed forced the incompletion. He has done this exact thing in practice, as well.

Later in the first quarter, Reed intercepted Lions quarterback Kyle Allen and returned it 60 yards. This was a poor throw from Allen that lacked velocity to the sideline. Reed took advantage, again showing his quickness when breaking on the ball. Reed had pressure on a blitz later in the game, and he added two tackles on special teams.

If Reed keeps playing like this, it will be tough for the Chargers to leave him off the 53-man roster.

Another player who continues his push toward the 53-man roster is Murphy, an edge rusher. Murphy has been playing with the first-team special teams units in the early stages of training camp, ahead of rookie edge rusher Kyle Kennard.

On the opening kickoff to the game, Murphy won his matchup in coverage and wrapped up Stuard, the kickoff returner. Murphy’s tackle stopped Stuard’s forward motion, and that allowed safety Kendall Williamson to punch the ball loose for a fumble.

Murphy was also physical and powerful on defense against the run. He had two tackles in the run game, including a tackle for loss. Murphy appears to be ahead of Kennard on the depth chart right now, and his capabilities on special teams could create a 53-man spot for him.

(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)




Source link

Tags

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *