3 Dramatic Overreactions to Chargers’ Preseason Dominance Over Texans

Preseason or not, the Los Angeles Chargers exorcized a few demons with the win over the Houston Texans on Thursday night.

There, the 27-7 beatdown didn’t even see starters like Justin Herbert suit up for anything more than warmups.

And yet, there were the Chargers on the road, limiting the Texans to 98 passing yards and 209 yards of total offense while the Mike McDaniel backup attack went for 379 yards and 6.3 yards per play.

The end result doesn't matter, of course, but the overreactions? They just might.

Chargers Overreactions After Preseason Win vs. Texans

Chargers backup QB situation is a problem

Time to hit the panic button?

Maybe. It’s been fair to consider Trey Lance one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL. Heck, it was even a little surprising to think about how he might be able to mesh well in a Mike McDaniel offense.

The meshing isn’t happening, though: Lance went 12-of-20 for 164 yards with an ugly interception and multiple other turnover-worthy throws on Thursday night.

DJ Uiagalelei, on the other hand, entered the game and went a smooth 6-of-9 with 120 yards and a touchdown.

Small sample size and Lance played against better defenders from the start of the game, yes. But the difference in quality of play was pretty apparent.

The bigger problem, perhaps, is that if Lance flops, Uiagalelei is certainly not one of the better backups in the NFL. A few years ago, Jim Harbaugh wasn’t thrilled with the backup situation and made a late trade just before the season. There’s an outside chance McDaniel could do it this year if this keeps up.

Chargers have embarrassment of riches at CB

The Chargers just keep nailing draft picks and overall acquisitions at cornerback.

Avery Smith, an undrafted free agent rookie, appears to be the latest.

After getting massive hype from a productive bit of training camp, Smith let up a touchdown on the only score of the game for Houston. But he made a third-down stop on the next drive and late in the game had a major run stop on a fourth down. If that was the rookie just getting adjusted to pro speed in live action for a second before settling in, not bad.

Add Smith to the pile. Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still were fifth-round pick success stories. Donte Jackson was a castoff free agent. Nikko Reed and Eric Rogers were college free agents.

Will the Chargers’ cornerback room be the very best in the NFL? Maybe not. But for a premium position, the team sure has a knack for finding solid contributors up and down the depth chart with small resource spend.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith will make Chargers final roster

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keandre Lambert-Smith — Keandre Lambert-Smith | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Everyone seemed to forget about KeAndre Lambert-Smith.

Fair enough. Quentin Johnston could rise in a McDaniel offense. Ladd McConkey can be elite. Tre Harris was a second-rounder with No. 1 upside. Brenen Thompson is the flashy 4.26 rookie. Luke Grimm, Dalevon Campbell and Devonte Ross have made some noise as undrafted free agents over the years.

Pretty easy to forget about Lambert-Smith, a meager fifth-round pick last year who caught five passes over 10 appearances.

Lambert-Smith, though, led all receivers with four catches for 58 yards. He’s got an obvious connection with Lance. And if the volume leads to production, McDaniel won’t ignore that. Don’t forget that he’s also a 6’1” wideout with 4.37 speed who can high-point contested catches and space the field in a modern offense, too.

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