Omarion Hampton, Chargers rookies labeled losers despite Week 1 win

The Los Angeles Chargers finally notched a win against the division rival Kansas City Chiefs. Their Week 1, 27-21 win snapped a seven-game skid to the Chiefs dating back to 2021. There were tons of positive takeaways for the Bolts from this game, including a vintage Justin Herbert performance.

Herbert threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns, as well as rushing for a first down to ice the game for the Chargers. Keenan Allen also returned to form and Quentin Johnston led the team in receiving with 79 yards.

There were some rather quiet contributions from the Bolts' rookie class, however. Omarion Hampton saw most of the carries on the night, but wasn't able to establish anything worthwhile with just 48 yards on 15 carries. Hampton made noise but for the wrong reasons, as he went out of bounds to stop the clock before halftime, allowing the Chiefs to regain possession and kick a field goal.

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA Today wasn't particularly kind to the Chargers' rookies, dubbing them as losers for Week 1.

"Los Angeles was widely projected to see an immediate impact from its top picks, but maybe some patience is required. Running back Omarion Hampton didn't find many openings in rushing for 48 yards on 15 carries. His night, however, was likely defined by a blunder with less than a minute before halftime, when his move to run out of bounds on a third-down carryopened the door for Mahomes to get Harrison Butker in position for a 59-yard field goalthat cut the deficit to 7 points. That decision drew the ire of Harbaugh, but the bell-cow back received some counseling from ballcarrier-turned-shutterbug Marshawn Lynch. Meanwhile, the youth movement in the receiving corps is on hold, with Harris notching just one catch and Lambert-Smith blanked."

Hopefully the Chargers' newcomers can change this narrative quickly.

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